CHENNAI: Chennai Metro carried 93.3 lakh passengers in October, according to the data released by Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL).
A release issued by the CMRL said the single busiest day of the month fell on October 17 with 4.02 lakh commuters, reflecting festival-time commute ahead of Deepavali.
The October tally was just below September’s number of 101.5 lakh passengers. It marked the seventh consecutive month when ridership recorded the 90-lakh threshold. Passenger numbers peaked at 103.8 lakh in July, underscoring the metro’s growing role in Chennai’s public transport landscape.
A sharp shift towards cashless and contactless travel continued, led by the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) branded the Singara Chennai Card that accounted for 47.6 lakh trips, more than half of all journeys in October. Traditional single-journey paper QR tickets or tokens purchased at stations were used for 19.5 lakh rides.
WhatsApp ticketing contributed 5.25 lakh rides, while the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) logged 8.76 lakh journeys. Third-party platforms such as Paytm (3.56 lakh) and PhonePe (3.07 lakh) also added to the digital share. The CMRL and Chennai One apps accounted for 0.63 lakh and 0.65 lakh passengers respectively. Online ticketing added a further 1.16 lakh rides, the release added.