India Metro Ridership Jumps 4x as Cities Link Up

Getting 115,000 more people to leave their cars at home every single day sounds impossible, but that's exactly what happened when two Indian cities decided to connect by metro.

The Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Metro has seen ridership explode fourfold since 2022, now carrying 150,000 passengers daily. Over 115 million people have ridden the system since it launched three years ago.

The growth tells a story of what happens when you make public transit convenient. Monthly ridership climbed from 1.2 million passengers in early 2023 to over 4.4 million in 2025. Each month, more residents are choosing the metro over sitting in traffic.

The latest extension, opened this January, directly connects Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar to Ahmedabad's network. Students heading to Kadi Sarva Vishwavidyalaya, workers commuting between cities, and visitors to Akshardham Temple now have a car-free option.

Big events prove the system works when it matters most. During two Coldplay concerts at Motera Stadium in January 2025, the metro carried 411,000 concertgoers in just two days. IPL cricket matches and the Rath Yatra festival regularly push daily ridership from 160,000 to 210,000 passengers.

The network now spans 68 kilometers with 53 stations across both cities. Phase 2 completion means residents can travel between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar without ever touching a steering wheel.

The Ripple Effect

Every person choosing the metro represents one less car adding to traffic jams and air pollution. In a country where urban congestion chokes economic growth and vehicle emissions cloud city skies, getting hundreds of thousands of daily drivers onto trains matters beyond convenience.

The success is already inspiring expansion conversations in other Indian cities. When residents see neighbors actually using public transit instead of just talking about it, the political will to invest strengthens.

Transit planners from Mumbai to Bangalore are watching Gujarat's numbers, looking for lessons to apply in their own metro projects. The formula seems simple: connect places people actually need to go, run trains frequently, and riders will come.

For the 150,000 people now starting their mornings on the metro instead of in gridlock, the math is even simpler: less stress, lower costs, and more time back in their day.