High-quality public transportation necessitates innovative planning and operation strategies. Recent advancements in information technology provide advanced data collection methods. Smart card (SD) transactions offer a detailed and cost-effective approach to estimate public transport network flows. This study constructs zonal origin-destination (OD) matrices for Mashhad’s public transport (bus and subway) by inferring passenger destinations using an enhanced trip chain model based on smart card data. Around 27% of the cards have only one daily transaction and about 69% have two or three daily transactions. Analysis revealed that 52.4% of transactions correspond to trip origins, with the remaining being transfers. A 30-minute transfer window was considered. Uniquely, this study incorporates all year-long transactions, including unlinked trips, for enhanced accuracy. These first-ever OD matrices for Mashhad public transport can inform improved planning and operation strategies for transportation authorities.

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