Govt begins trial run of mohalla buses in Delhi

The Delhi government is currently operating 100 buses acquired from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to enhance last-mile connectivity.

The Delhi government on Monday started a week-long trial run for the mohalla bus project and launched two trial routes by taking a step forward towards implementation of the flagship scheme announced last year to improve the last-mile connectivity in the Capital. These buses will run on two trial routes — Akshardham to Mayur Vihar Phase-3 and Majlis Park to Pradhan Enclave in Burari.

Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on a mohalla bus on Monday as it went on trial at Delhi Secretariat. (Vipun Kumar/HT)

Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot said that the transport department will conduct a trial run for a week and feedback will be incorporated for the expansion of the mohalla bus project. “Such routes are being created for the first time. We are consulting with IIT and several other organisations working with big data to understand the commuting patterns using mobile data and higher frequency of origin-destination points. Transportation, Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) are studying the ground reality of the proposed routes,” he added.

The Delhi government is currently operating 100 buses acquired from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to enhance last-mile connectivity.

A DMRC official on condition of anonymity said that the Delhi government reached out to various stakeholders for the new routes and 152 routes have been proposed by the agency for improving the last-mile connectivity with the Metro stations. “For fixing the Metro bus routes for mohalla buses, Delhi has been divided in four clusters — east, north, south and outer Delhi. Some of the areas which have been included in these routes include Kashmiri Gate, Shastri Park, East Vinod Nagar, Anand Vihar and Vishwavidyalaya Metro station,” the official said. Several Metro stations are already connected with e-autos and a proposal to start e-bike taxis is in the pipeline.

Gahlot on Monday said that the two trial routes have never seen public buses operating in these areas. “These are completely unserved areas. The first route starts from Majlis Park Metro station, covers Burari, heads towards Jharoda Metro station and then goes northwards and culminates at Pradhan Enclave. The second route starts from Akshardham, passes along Mayur Vihar Phase 1 Metro station, Trilokpuri Block-13, Rajbir Colony and ends near Mayur Vihar Phase-3 Paper Market. The routes connect important localities with several Metro stations,” he added.

Gahlot said that these buses will not have longer routes like our 12-metre buses. “They will have shorter routes, which would be less than 10km. The main parameter to decide routes include the areas that are not being serviced by the 12m buses, important bus stops, schools, commercial centres and Metro stations for improving connectivity. The whole idea of community bus is to connect passengers to a place, which provides further connectivity on bigger routes or important Metro station. It may not directly take you to the destination,” the minister added.

The Delhi government announced the mohalla bus scheme during the 2023-24 budget to improve last-mile connectivity. It aims to deploy 9-metre electric buses to provide neighbourhood or feeder bus services. The government plans to introduce 2,180 such buses by 2025, catering specifically to areas with limited road width or overcrowding. These buses are designed to navigate areas with limited road width and high congestion.

Fares of the mohalla buses will be same as the 12m AC buses of the Delhi government and pink passes for women will also be valid in these buses, a government official said. Green coloured, electricity-powered mohalla buses can carry 23 sitting and 13 standing passengers. After a charging once, the bus can run around 120km, and can undertake 10-15 trips.

The government plans to introduce 2,180 such buses by 2025 for which 16 bus depots have been finalised. The 16 selected depots will located in Ghazipur, ⁠East Vinod Nagar, Dwarka main depot, Dwarka Sector 2, Keshopur, Peeragarhi, Shadipur, Dwarka Sector 9, Kushak Nallah Depot, Ambedkar Nagar, Mundka, Nangloi (DMRC), Nangloi (DTC), Rithala, Kohat Enclave and Narela. “25% of the seats (6 seats) are pink, reserved exclusively for women passengers,” added the government official.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that the idea of providing last-mile connectivity to Delhiites through buses is an unplanned idea. “When we talk of last-mile connectivity, we infer to a vehicle that comfortably takes a passenger getting down at a Metro station or a bus stop to his home. Most inner colony roads in Delhi are 10 to 14 feet wide with normally vehicles parked in front of homes or businesses and so, it is impractical to expect that buses can negotiate through such routes. The idea of offering last-mile connectivity through 9-metre buses floated by the transport minister speaks volumes on the way this government work without research. Only small vehicles can succeed as last-mile connectivity vehicles,” he added.