Bengaluru: Bengaluru’s Namma Metro has recorded a sharp rise in daily ridership, crossing the 10-lakh mark following the launch of the Yellow Line (RV Road to Bommasandra) on August 11. Before the line’s inauguration, the city’s metro saw an average of 8 lakh passengers daily, occasionally touching 9 lakh. Now, with the new corridor operational, ridership has surged by around 2 lakh. On Monday, August 12, passenger counts stood at 4,51,816 on the Purple Line, 2,91,677 on the Green Line, 52,215 on the Yellow Line, and 2,52,323 using interchange facilities — totalling 10,48,031 commuters. Of these, 5,03,937 used smart cards, 2,08,382 used QR code tickets, and 3,03,165 travelled using tokens. Officials expect the numbers to grow further in the coming days.

To enhance commuter convenience, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has introduced feeder bus services along the Yellow Line. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy flagged off the service on Tuesday. The new network operates on four feeder routes with 12 buses making 96 trips daily, connecting six metro stations including Hosur Road, Beretena Agrahara, Electronic City, Infosys Foundation, Konappana Agrahara, Hebbagodi, and Bommasandra.

Across the city, BMTC operates hundreds of feeder buses on 45 routes from major metro stations, including KR Puram Railway Station, running over 2,750 trips daily and serving more than 1.2 lakh passengers. Commuters can now access live tracking, schedules, and related updates for these buses via QR codes placed at metro stations and inside trains.

Officials have attributed Monday’s spike in Namma Metro ridership to the long-awaited launch of the Yellow Line, which had been delayed for over four years. The 19.15-km Yellow Line corridor, part of Phase 2 of the Metro project and built at a cost of ₹7,160 crore, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. The new line connects RV Road to Bommasandra, with 16 stations along the route, passing through key commercial and IT hubs. According to BMRCL, the Yellow Line is expected to ease traffic congestion in Bengaluru’s southern corridor.

With this addition, the city’s total Metro network now spans 96 km. BMRCL estimates that daily ridership could soon reach 12.5 lakh passengers.