Lucknow, May 23 -- Chief secretary SP Goyal on Friday stressed the need to strengthen last-mile connectivity in cities to make Metro rail services more effective and accessible to commuters. Chairing a project monitoring meeting, he directed officials to undertake comprehensive measures for improving connectivity around Metro stations and enhancing ridership. He said that while acquiring land for new Metro stations, future requirements should also be taken into account and additional land should be acquired for parking facilities. He also asked officials to exploredeveloping underground parking near Metro stations. The chief secretary further instructed officials to prepare proposals for developing parking facilities on vacant land near Metro stations under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. He also directed that app-based bicycle and e-bicycle rental facilities should be introduced near Metro stations to provide commuters with convenient and eco-friendly transport options for last-mile travel....