Plans to restart interstate DTC services with 1,600 luxury buses

DTC used to operate interstate services to cities in north India till 2010, which were discontinued after switching to CNG

The Delhi government’s transport department is planning to relaunch its interstate bus service by giving permits to selected private players, officials aware of the development said on Saturday.

DTC currently has 300 electric buses in its 7,379-strong fleet. (HT Photo)

The officials said around 1,600 premium interstate buses connecting several major north Indian cities like Dehradun, Jaipur, Shimla, Chandigarh, Sonipat, Meerut, Amritsar, Jammu, and Agra, among others, with the national capital are in the pipeline, the tender for which will be floated next month.

The buses will be operated by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) in agreement with the selected private players, after the tender is floated. Transport minister Kailash Gahlot told HT that the tender is likely to be floated in a month’s time.

“We have held several consultations with stakeholders and experts. The details are being worked out and the transport department is finalising the modalities of the tender to launch the scheme. The interstate buses of DTC are high in demand because of their reliability and service quality over other operators,” Gahlot said.

DTC already has reciprocal agreements with other states, and currently, government-run buses from other states such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan reach Delhi on an everyday basis.

To be sure, DTC used to operate interstate services to cities in north India till 2010. These services, however, were discontinued as the DTC had completely switched its fleet to CNG — a fuel that was not readily available in other states at the time.

DTC also operates an international bus service, which currently runs between Kathmandu and Delhi. Its service to Lahore stopped in August 2019, after Pakistan decided to discontinue the service following the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370 and bifurcate the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories.

A transport department official said DTC’s interstate bus service was very popular. “The first choice of bus passengers on these routes was DTC buses because they considered the DTC buses more reliable,” the official said, declining to be named.

With clamour for this service to be restarted, the DTC gave its in-principle approval for the project in January this year.

A second official said that of the 1,600 buses that will constitute the fleet of the relaunched service, 1,200 will ply on 113 routes located up to 200km from the Capital, while 400 will ply on 90 routes located beyond 200km. “The details of the routes are being worked out. These buses will be electric as well as CNG-run. Delhi has adequate charging facilities for the electric buses as will the other states. The routes of the electric and CNG buses will be decided as per the charging facilities available to the destination cities,” said the official.

“The buses will belong to private operators who will work with the Delhi government as per formally signed agreements. The model of agreement has not been decided yet. It may be on profit sharing or payment to the government per kilometre basis,” the official said.