Ever-shifting colours of public transport in cities

Experts say frequent changes in colour schemes of public transport vehicles can create confusion for commuters, and ultimately dilute a city’s unique identity

Public transport in Indian cities is getting ever more colourful, with hues being added and changed often. Buses, cabs, and auto-rickshaws now come in a variety of colours. In Delhi, the colours of buses have changed from yellow-green to include red, green, orange, indigo, and blue. Mumbai now has buses in yellow and blue instead of just signature red. Bengaluru is returning to a blue-white combination from hues like orange, green, blue, grey, and yellow. In Noida, auto-rickshaws currently come in four different colours. Experts say these frequent changes in colour schemes of public transport vehicles can create confusion for commuters, and ultimately dilute a city’s unique identity.

In Delhi, yellow and green buses have been synonymous with the city’s public transport since the establishment of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) in 1971. However, the city has experimented with new colours. Redline buses run by private transporters were introduced in 1992 but became notorious as “killer buses” due to frequent accidents. The Delhi government changed its colour from red to blue, but this didn’t stop the accidents. By 2008, there were about 3,600 Blueline buses and 2,800 DTC buses. The Bluelines were phased out by 2010.

In November 2007, Sheila Dikshit’s government launched the first batch of 12 green low-floor buses in the Capital, promising a complete public transport revamp by the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Today, Delhi has buses in five colours — green for standard non-AC buses, red and indigo for AC buses, orange for multi-modal transport buses, and blue for electric buses.

When asked about how DTC chooses the colours of its buses and whether the multitude of colours affects the city’s identity, Shilpa Shinde, managing director of DTC, said, “Since we are transitioning to blue 12-metre electric buses and green 9-metre Mohalla buses, colour uniformity will be ensured. By the end of 2025, these two colours will predominantly prevail.”

While Shinde did not elaborate on the colour selection process, a former senior DTC official said that the transport agency does not follow any specific criteria. “Most of the time, bus colours were decided by politicians based on their preferences,” the official said. “For instance, Sheila Dikshit opted for green low-floor buses in late 2007. In 2009, ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she chose ‘grass green’ for DTC’s old fleet of 2,000 yellow-green buses to promote her vision of a ‘Green Delhi’.”

Colours of confusion?

Experts argue that the bewildering diversity of colours seen in public transport is often unnecessary. The colours of public transport in a city should be determined by a combination of functional, aesthetic, cultural, and nostalgic considerations, with the ultimate goal of providing safe and reliable transportation services to the public, they remarked.

“The main purpose of colours should be to distinguish between services. In Delhi, green represents non-AC buses and red signifies AC buses, which I believe is sufficient. Whether it’s an electric or CNG bus, passengers are not concerned, and it should not affect the colour of the vehicle,” explains OP Agarwal, a retired IAS officer and former CEO of the World Resources Institute (India). Agarwal is also the lead author of the National Urban Transport Policy 2006 and chair of the committee that drafted Delhi’s parking policy in 2019.

Noida's autos come in several colours. (HT Photo)

Shreya Gadepalli, a Chennai-based urban mobility expert, agrees. “The colour on a public transport vehicle should serve as a means of conveying information and contribute to the city’s branding, and there should be some uniformity in this branding. The same applies to the colour of cabs in a city,” she says. “ In Chennai, bus colours have changed over the years with a change in government.”

Chennai has indeed kept pace with other cities in this regard, with buses sporting new colours every few years, transitioning from red to green, orange, and yellow. In 2022, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation introduced pink buses too. Additionally, last year, state transport minister SS Sivasankar announced plans to change the colour of city and town buses, including those in Chennai.

The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST), responsible for Mumbai’s public bus service, too has deviated from its long-standing loyalty to the iconic “signal red” colour. In 2019, it introduced yellow buses exclusively for women, with around 27 currently in operation. Earlier this year, it partnered with Chalo, a bus transport technology company, to launch app-based premium blue buses.

“Both yellow and blue buses serve as visual markers to differentiate between the services. Yellow buses offer a recognisable option, enhancing accessibility for female commuters. But 99.9% of our buses are still red, so the city’s identity is not affected,” says Sunil Vaidya, the public relations officer of BEST.

BEST currently operates a fleet of 3,034 buses, serving over 3,200,000 passengers in Mumbai daily. (HT Photo)

BEST currently operates a fleet of 3,034 buses, serving over 3,200,000 passengers daily. “We plan to add 2,000 more buses by the end of next year, all of which will be red electric buses,” Vaidya adds. However, some Mumbaikars express dissatisfaction, noting that many new electric buses are predominantly red and black, departing from the classic signal red that symbolises Mumbai. “The new electric buses have more black than red. BEST should have stuck to the signal red as it defines Mumbai,” remarks Raj Patil, a Mumbai resident.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is in reverse gear, returning to a uniform blue-and-white colour scheme based on feedback collected from its employees and passengers through a survey. “Originally, all our buses had a blue-white livery, which changed over the years. A majority of both our employees and citizens preferred blue and white over other colours. We have already repainted a majority of 5200 diesel buses in blue and white. However, the new electric buses come in various combinations such as pink and white, turquoise blue, dark blue, and jet black,” said a BMTC official.

Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is returning to a uniform blue-and-white scheme. (HT Photo)

Complementing the built environment

Architects and designers emphasise the importance of harmony between the colours of public transport vehicles and the city’s built environment to create a cohesive and visually appealing urban landscape. “Public transport colours should either complement or contrast with the architecture and overall built environment of a city. For example, the red buses stand out against the subtle soft beige Victorian architecture of the historic Fort area in Mumbai,” says Dikshu C Kukreja, an urban planner and architect.

Kapil Pandey, founder of VDIS, a company specialising in signage and wayfinding systems for cities, highlights that the transport system of a city reflects various aspects such as people’s behaviour and how the city respects time. “It also defines the persona of a city. You can’t think about Kolkata without the yellow Ambassadors (taxis); you can’t think about London without the red London buses or the black taxis. Similarly, it’s hard to imagine Delhi without the yellow-green DTC buses. So, changing the colour of public transport alters the very look and feel of a city,” he adds.

Driving memory, legacy, and nostalgia

Experts emphasise the importance of memory, legacy, and nostalgia in choosing public transport colours. They believe these colours evoke emotions and memories, fostering local pride and strengthening the connection between residents and their city.

“Delhi’s yellow and green DTC buses will always evoke nostalgia among people. So, honouring memory and legacy are crucial. Otherwise, residents may feel alienated in their own city. For me, the U special bus that I took when I went to college, and the bus I took in my senior year of school is the DTC bus. Instead of introducing new colours, preserving variations of the traditional yellow-green could have retained the nostalgic essence of the DTC buses while accommodating functional distinctions,” says Pandey.

Kukreja agrees, “The yellow cabs in New York and red buses in London maintain tradition and continuity, connecting the city’s past and present, reminding residents and visitors of their rich history and heritage.”

However, in Kolkata, the iconic yellow taxis, synonymous with the city’s identity, are rapidly being replaced by app-based white taxis. Only about 7,000 yellow taxis hit the streets daily, compared to around 36,000 white cabs. About 2,500 yellow taxis, all D and E series Ambassadors, will be phased out by 2025 in compliance with the National Green Tribunal’s order.

Only about 7,000 yellow taxis hit Kolkata's streets daily, compared to 36,000 white app-based cabs. (HT Photo)

“No doubt, there is nostalgia for the yellow taxis, and we are keen to preserve them. We have launched an app to support the remaining yellow taxis. However, the company that made these yellow Ambassador cars shut down its factory, so getting new yellow taxis is not possible,” says Snehasis Chakraborty, transport minister of West Bengal.

The city’s yellow Ambassador taxis, based on Britain’s 1956 Morris Oxford Series III, hold a significant cultural legacy. However, after 57 years of production, Hindustan Motors stopped making the car, with the last one rolling out of its factory in Uttarpara, West Bengal in 2014.

“The government can find solutions if it truly desires. Last year, the government discussed plans to extend their lifespan beyond 15 years by facilitating their conversion to electric vehicles (EVs), but there has been no progress, “ says Ranjeet Das, a yellow taxi driver in the city, adding “Kolkata would not feel the same in a few years when all cabs are white”.