Chennai Metro Rail transforms ticketing experience for 1.7 million monthly commuters through WhatsApp
About CMRL
Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL) is integral to Chennai’s daily life, serving over 250,000 passengers daily. CMRL has revolutionised urban travel by providing a fast, reliable, and safe metro service, significantly contributing to the city’s growth and making daily commutes convenient. (Source)
Opportunity
To meet modern passengers’ expectations, CMRL identified opportunities to enhance
their ticketing experience.
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Handle High Traffic : Managing vast numbers of daily passengers and ticket transactions was increasingly challenging.
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Enhance Digital Experience : Providing a modern, digital method for ticket purchase.
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High Reachability and Ease of Use : Ensuring the new system is accessible and user-friendly.
Solution
CMRL partnered with Karix to leverage the WhatsApp Business Platform, transforming the ticketing process into a digital-first, highly accessible service. The solution included:
Interactive Booking Experience
A user-friendly bot that guides passengers through the ticket purchase process on WhatsApp.
Web View Integration
Enabling complete transaction capabilities within WhatsApp, eliminating the need to move between multiple apps.
Native Payment Checkout
Facilitating secure and quick payments with a Payment Gateway integration that works seamlessly within WhatsApp.
Digital QR Tickets for Offline Booking
To shift away from tokens and paper tickets, CMRL enabled users to pay at counters, enter their mobile numbers into a TOM Counter, and receive QR tickets on WhatsApp – to be used by passengers to enter and exit the metro station.
Impact
With ticket booking on WhatsApp, CMRL has seen significant improvements in customer engagement and operational efficiency.
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59% ticket bookings via WhatsApp with the foundation day campaign.
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1.7 million+ monthly commuters leveraged QR code, WebView and WhatsApp Native Checkouts to enable hassle free travel.
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85% of passengers, as per the feedback survey, appreciate the convenience and speed of the service while booking tickets on WhatsApp.
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11% increase in WhatsApp ticket sales was observed over the last 10 months.
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Result
8 million Facebook users saw Titan’s ads
More than 125+ new purchases directly attributed to the campaign
With the impressive shopping cart conversion rate* of 25%
More than ~500 users added watches to their carts
K A Manoharan
Advisor (Signal & Telecom)
Chennai Metro Rail Limited
"Partnering with Karix to implement the WhatsApp-based ticketing solution has been transformative for Chennai Metro Rail Limited. The integration was seamless, and the user-friendly chat interface has made ticket purchasing incredibly easy for our passengers. In the first nine months, we observed a remarkable 11% increase in WhatsApp ticket sales, significantly reducing congestion at physical ticket counters and vending machines. The real-time updates and customer support features have greatly enhanced our service reliability and convenience. Overall, this solution has not only boosted passenger satisfaction but also led to considerable operational cost savings."
Summary
Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) partnered with Karix to streamline its ticket booking service through WhatsApp, offering a fast and convenient digital solution for passengers. This service improved operational efficiency, enhanced customer satisfaction, and led to a significant increase in ticket sales while reducing paper ticket usage. This transformation underscores CMRL’s commitment to adopting innovative technology to elevate the passenger experience.