Metro’s feeder buses to be handed to Delhi govt

The Delhi government has approved a proposal by the DMRC to run 136 e-autos from Metro stations in Dwarka, out of which 50 will become operational in the first week of August from Dwarka Sector 9 station.

Electric auto-rickshaws will provide last-mile connectivity from Metro stations and feeder buses will be phased out as they do not have sufficient ridership, a top Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) official said, a move experts said may worsen already severe levels of congestion outside stations.

The Metro feeder buses.(Saumya Khandelwal/HT Photo)

The Delhi government has approved a proposal by the DMRC to run 136 e-autos from Metro stations in Dwarka, out of which 50 will become operational in the first week of August from Dwarka Sector 9 station. A total of 799 e-autos will be introduced by the end of the year.

The DMRC plans to hand over the feeder bus fleet to the Delhi government, the Metro body’s managing director Vikas Kumar said. While there is an agreement to procure 100 feeder buses, discussions have been held with the Delhi government to hand over this fleet to them, he said.

Currently, 56 feeder buses are run by the DMRC on four routes and at nine metro stations.

“We have realised that for last mile connectivity, it is inefficient to run feeder buses as they are unable to meet their full capacity and most of them are being underutilised. This is, therefore, costly and contributing to losses,” Kumar said. The 100 feeder buses that the corporation has agreed to procure will be run by the Delhi government on other suitable routes.

Electric auto rickshaws were comparatively cheaper and will be more efficient, Kumar said. “They can manoeuvre easily in narrow streets and 136 such e-autos will start in Dwarka in the first phase,” he said. “We have identified a concessionaire and 50 autos will become operational first in August from the Dwarka Sector 9 metro station.”

A total of 799 e-autos are planned at present, with 136 to run across Dwarka’s metro stations, while the remaining 663 will operate in other parts of Delhi four months after Dwarka gets its e-autos.

Adding more e-rickshaws without a proper plan could worsen the situation outside the metro stations, according to Shreya Gadepalli, a transport expert and founder of Urban Works Institute, a non-profit.

“Passengers exit a world-class Metro, only to be overwhelmed by a third-class feeder experience,” Gadepalli said. “People should be able to transfer seamlessly. This requires three things: proper design of the station area for waiting and circulation of feeder vehicles, clear information about the services, and fare integration between metro and feeder services.”

There are plans to eventually integrate Metro smart cards with the new e-autos, Kumar said. “This will make commuting easier, and for the e-autos, we have asked them to run on the same rates as fixed by the Delhi government.”

Delhi got its first fleet of e-autos on March 31, when chief minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged off the first lot that had received registration certificates. A total of 3,500 autos were issued letters of intent and 500 of these will be driven by women, he had said.

“Keeping the situation of pollution in Delhi in mind, we are gradually initiating a paradigm shift in vehicles from fuel-based to electric ones, and in this direction, electric autos have been introduced, which will now regularly operate throughout Delhi,” Kejriwal had said.

Delhi government spokespersons did not respond to requests seeking comment.