Observing 'Smart Card Week' seemed to have worked wonders for the Delhi Metro.

On the first day of the 'Smart Card Week' on Tuesday, there was a 30 per cent increase in the sale of the smart cards, which helps commuters to avoid grueling queues.

On an average, about 10,000 new Smart Cards are sold at Metro stations every day.

"However, DMRC registered a sale of 12,906 Smart Cards yesterday which is an increase of 2,906 from its daily average. Amongst the stations where maximum Smart Cards were sold are New Delhi (637), followed by Chandni Chowk (609)," DMRC spokesman Anuj Dayal said.

The Delhi Metro is observing Smart Card Week from May 9 to May 15 to promote and popularise extensive use of the Smart Cards.

Presently, over 60 per cent of Metro passengers (over nine lakh) are using Smart Cards on a regular basis and the DMRC intends to increase this figure substantially to a level similar to that of the other Metro systems like Singapore and Hong Kong where almost 100 per cent of Metro users rely on Smart Cards.