Pune: Pune Metro witnessed a sharp rise in ridership during this year's Ganeshotsav, with more than 48.32 lakh passengers travelling on the network during the 12-day festival period from Sep 14 to Sep 25. The increased footfall also helped MahaMetro generate ₹7.49 crore in revenue, as thousands of devotees and citizens opted for public transport to reach key locations across the city.
According to Pune MahaMetro, it recorded 48,32,915 passenger journeys during the period, reflecting a substantial increase compared with the previous two years. Ridership stood at 20,45,100 in 2024 and rose to 37,17,578 in 2025. This year's figure represents a 29.99% increase over 2025 and a 136.32% rise compared with 2024, indicating more than a doubling of festival-period Metro usage in two years.
The biggest surge was recorded on Anant Chaturdashi, when the city witnessed large-scale Ganesh immersion processions. Between 6 am on Sep 25 and 6 am on Sep 26, as many as 5,80,280 passengers travelled by Metro. MahaMetro earned ₹85.61 lakh in revenue during the 24-hour period.
Line 1, connecting PCMC and Swargate, recorded the higher ridership of the two corridors, with 25,15,516 passengers and revenue of ₹4.17 crore. Line 2, between Vanaz and Ramwadi, recorded 23,17,399 passengers and generated ₹3.31 crore.
The District Court Metro station, which serves as the interchange between the two corridors, also witnessed substantial movement. A total of 10,39,452 passengers used the interchange facility during the 12-day festival period. On Anant Chaturdashi alone, 1,22,552 passengers changed lines at the station.
Among individual stations, Mahatma Phule Mandai recorded the highest footfall with 6,82,473 passengers, generating ₹1.01 crore in revenue. It was followed by PCMC with 4,72,658 passengers, Swargate with 4,35,489, Ramwadi with 4,05,447 and PMC with 2,69,477 passengers.
The immersion day saw exceptionally high footfall at several stations. Mahatma Phule Mandai recorded 70,375 passengers, followed by Deccan Gymkhana with 64,938, Swargate with 48,906, PCMC with 43,491 and Ramwadi with 37,894. Vanaz, Nal Stop, Garware College, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Udyan and Pune Railway Station also recorded more than 20,000 passengers each.
Digital ticketing and cashless payments also saw widespread adoption. Around 71% of passengers used digital ticketing, while 29% opted for paper tickets. Overall, 86% of passengers made payments through online modes, UPI or cards, while 14% used cash.
MahaMetro increased train frequency to every five minutes during the festival and operated services continuously for 24 hours on immersion day to manage the additional passenger load. Medical facilities were also made available at Swargate, Mahatma Phule Mandai and Deccan Gymkhana stations.
MahaMetro Managing Director Shravan Hardikar said, “The trust shown by lakhs of devotees in Pune Metro during Ganeshotsav is a matter of great pride for us. Considering the increasing number of passengers during the festival, train frequency was brought down to five minutes, 24-hour uninterrupted services were provided and robust crowd management arrangements were made at the stations.”
He added, “Medical facilities were also made available at Swargate, Mahatma Phule Mandai and Deccan Gymkhana stations considering the crowds. These measures helped make the historic movement of passengers smooth and safe. I sincerely thank Pune residents and devotees who came from outside the city for giving priority to public transport and making extensive use of the digital ticketing system.”
