DMRC to set up subsidiary firm for last-mile connectivity from Metro

The company will not only decide on a new and profitable business model for Metro feeder buses but will also have powers to regulate other modes of last-mile transportation, including e-rickshaws.

Last-mile connectivity from Metro stations could get more coherent, efficient and organised as the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is planning to set up a subsidiary firm for the purpose.

E-rickshaws are a favoured mode of transport for last mile connectivity from Delhi Metro stations. (Manoj Verma/HT FILE)

The company will not only decide on a new and profitable business model for Metro feeder buses but will also have powers to regulate other modes of last-mile transportation, including e-rickshaws.

A proposal to set up the subsidiary firm was passed by the DMRC board in a meeting earlier this month.

“Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, in a meeting held in June, had asked the DMRC to explore starting a subsidiary company that would run allied services including last mile connectivity,” a Metro official said, adding that the primary focus would remain on creating an efficient feeder bus system.

Modalities of the company are yet to be finalised, but Delhi government officials said the feeder buses could be run on cluster basis and that a viability gap funding can also be considered if the DMRC finds the model more successful.

The company is also likely to rationalise operations of three-wheelers, e-rickshaws and Gramin Sevas around Metro stations. Currently, these are being run in an unorganised manner, making it difficult for people to access feeder buses at stations.

The move will help DMRC, officials say, as it has repeatedly expressed its unwillingness to run feeder buses because of limited powers in its hands.

While the 2010 Route Rationalisation Study done by DIMTS states that the city needs at least 1,000 feeder buses, Delhi has only 291, out of which 117 have to be taken off roads in the coming months as their shelf life is getting over.

Data with Delhi Metro suggests that feeder buses are in demand as around two lakh passengers used the service daily between April 2016 and March, 2017. The buses provided 3,650 trips per day on 43 routes.

However, it continues to face the problem of non-Metro commuters who constitute nearly 70% ridership of these buses.

“Feeder buses are being run by private operators for the DMRC and they are complaining that there’s hardly any profit as the fares, which is controlled by the state transport authority, have not been revised since 2009,” another official said.

At present, the DMRC charges Rs 5 for 4 km, Rs 10 for 4–10 km and Rs 15 for more than 10 km.