Chennai: Despite efforts to promote cashless travel, digital payments remain marginal among Chennai’s bus commuters. Of the 10.4 crore passengers who used Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) services last month, only 2.73% paid through Singara Chennai cards, UPI, debit/credit cards, or the Chennai One app.
According to MTC data, around 3.97 crore women travelled for free under the Vidiyal Payanam scheme, forming the largest commuter group. Among fare-paying passengers, cash remained dominant with 3.57 crore transactions, while another 1.38 crore used monthly passes priced at ₹1,000 and ₹2,000.
MTC officials said they were intentionally adopting a gradual approach to digitization. “A large share of our passengers are students and senior citizens using free or concessional passes. Many don’t carry smartphones. We can’t exclude them in the name of digitization,” said MTC Managing Director T. Prabhushankar.
The corporation has been steadily expanding digital options since last year. UPI-enabled ticketing machines were introduced in February 2024, followed by the Singara Chennai card integrating metro and bus services in January 2025, and the Chennai One app launched last month. On October 13, digital transactions briefly peaked at 11%, largely through UPI and smart cards.
Meanwhile, the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) plans to digitize all ₹1,000 and ₹2,000 passes by month-end, while continuing limited physical sales. However, officials admit online systems still have gaps. “Digital pass data doesn’t show where commuters alight, limiting our analysis of travel patterns. We’re working to resolve this,” said CUMTA Member Secretary I. Jeyakumar.
While younger commuters have embraced the shift, many older passengers still prefer physical passes. “I travel from Pattabiram to Avadi depot just to buy my pass. They should fix such offline issues before going fully online,” said T. Sadagopan, a senior citizen pass holder.
