KOCHI: Kochi Metro is going places as a popular mode of the transport for those looking to beat the traffic congestion and the unpredictable weather in the city. Passenger numbers hit a new high in August with the transport network registering a monthly ridership of over 34 lakh, beating the previous high of 32 lakh recorded last December.
“Ridership in August was 34,10,250, higher than the 32,35,027 posted in December 2024. Interestingly, July also registered good numbers, with 32,14,193 passengers availing the facility,” a senior KMRL official said.
In fact, on average, monthly ridership this year is up an impressive 1,59,660 from the corresponding period last year. Total monthly footfall in August 2024 was 30,27,750. Average daily ridership has been touching the one-lakh mark on most days since July 2024. “While monthly ridership in January 2025 was 31,59,874, it came in at 31,58,565 for May,” the official added.
Annual ridership has grown by at least 10% since FY 2022-23. Total ridership was 2,48,81,600 in 2022-23, 3,23,14,947 in 2023-24 and 3,56,17,580 in 2024-25.
Kochi Metro registered an operating surplus in the last three consecutive years, making a remarkable turnaround. When services commenced in 2017-18, the company reported an operating loss of Rs 24.19 crore that year.
While the loss narrowed to Rs 5.70 crore in 2018-19, it widened to Rs 13.92 crore in 2019-20 and further to Rs 56.56 crore in 2020-21. The loss declined to Rs 34.94 crore in 2021-22. A major breakthrough came in 2022-23, when KMRL transitioned to operating profit, posting a surplus of Rs 5.35 crore. This positive trajectory continued in 2023-24, with an operating profit of Rs 22.94 crore, and in 2024-25, when it achieved an operating profit of Rs 33.34 crore.
Factors driving ridership
While ease of travelling is seeing many passengers switch over to Kochi Metro, a main factor identified for the trend is the commencement of ‘Metro Connect’ feeder services, which provide first- and last-mile connectivity. KMRL introduced the 33-seater electric buses on January 15, deploying them mainly on the Aluva-Airport, Kalamassery-Medical College, Kalamassery-Infopark, Kakkanad Water Metro Terminal-Infopark-Collectorate routes and for High Court-MG Road circular services.
Annual ridership
Year Total
2017-18 1,00,71,036
2018-19 1,26,24,826
2019-20 1,81,21,648
2020-21 38,21,745
2021-22 97,12,065
2022-23 2,48,81,600
2023-24 3,23,14,947
2024-25 3,56,17,580
Source: KMRL