According to metro officials, the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches played at Motera’s Narendra Modi Stadium have increased daily metro ridership by at least 80% on match days.
Unseasonal rains forced the IPL 2023 final between the host Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings to be postponed to a reserve day on Sunday, which resulted in 1,07,552 passengers using the Ahmedabad Metro. This is the metro’s highest-ever daily ridership figure.
According to Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC), the average daily ridership of the Ahmedabad Metro between January-March 2023 was around 40,000.
On Sunday, the Ahmedabad Metro earned Rs 18.73 lakh from ticket sales. This eclipses the previous highest metro ridership (99,643) of the current IPL season recorded on May 7, when Gujarat Titans played Lucknow Super Giants in a league match. The GMRC has been operating for extended hours — beyond 10 pm — during IPL matches held at the Narendra Modi stadium this year.
During IPL matches held at the Narendra Modi stadium — located at the northern end of the North-South corridor of the Ahmedabad Metro — from March 31 to May 28, 2023, the daily ridership has oscillated between 72,000 and 99,000. During this period, nine IPL matches were held at the stadium.
On May 26, when Gujarat Titans defeated Mumbai Indians in an eliminator game at Narendra Modi stadium, 84,090 passengers used the Ahmedabad Metro.