Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has reported a decline in passenger ridership for the month of April, with approximately 80.87 lakh passengers utilizing the metro services compared to 86.82 lakh passengers in March. Despite this dip, April saw a notable milestone with the highest single-day ridership recorded on April 8, when 3.24 lakh passengers availed the metro services.The trend in ridership reflects fluctuations observed since the beginning of the year, with 84.63 lakh passengers in January, 86.15 lakh passengers in February, and 86.82 lakh passengers in March. The slight decrease in April underscores the ongoing challenges faced by public transportation systems amidst evolving commuting patterns and external factors influencing travel behavior.
CMRL’s efforts to diversify payment options and enhance convenience for passengers are evident in the utilization statistics. In April, 33.23 lakh passengers utilized travel cards, 13.63 lakh passengers used the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), while online and static QR code usage accounted for 1.88 lakh and 2.18 lakh passengers, respectively. Additionally, paper QR codes were utilized by 19.58 lakh passengers, and 3.76 lakh passengers opted for Paytm transactions.
To incentivize ridership and promote the use of metro services, CMRL continues to offer a 20 percent discount on all ticketing options, including Metro travel cards, mobile QR code tickets (single, return, and group), QR trip passes, as well as transactions made through Whatsapp, Paytm, and PhonePe. Moreover, passengers now have the convenience of booking tickets through CMRL’s Whatsapp ticketing System (+91 83000 86000) and Paytm.