Gradual rise in average daily ridership for Delhi Metro over last 3 months: DMRC chief

The Yellow Line still accounts for the largest share of ridership at 28.13%, followed by the Blue Line at 22%, according to data shared by officials

There has been a gradual rise in the Delhi Metro’s average daily ridership over the last three months due to the reopening of schools and organisations following COVID-induced closures, a top DMRC official said.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Managing Director Vikas Kumar said on Tuesday evening that several metros across the globe have seen a reduction of about 20% in their ridership due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the Delhi Metro, the average daily ridership in July stood at 42.64 lakh. The ridership figures for June and May were 41.90 lakh and 39.48 lakh, respectively, suggesting that there has been a gradual increase, he said.

The pre-COVID ridership (journeys or line utilisation) was about 60 lakh.

The DMRC uses the metric of journey or line utilisation, which is calculated by the number of corridors passengers use to reach their destination.

Mr. Kumar said the reopening of schools and several organisations operating in the hybrid mode (combining work from office and home) have led to an improvement in ridership figures in the past few weeks.

He said he hopes the Delhi Metro will reach the pre-COVID ridership by the end of December.