App soon on routes, seats and timing of buses in Delhi

People travelling in the capital will soon get the exact schedule, location and seat availability of DTC buses and details required to hire autorickshaws for last-mile connectivity through a cellphone app.

People travelling in the capital will soon get the exact schedule, location and seat availability of DTC buses and details required to hire autorickshaws for last-mile connectivity through a cellphone app.

The app is part of an initiative by the Aam Aadmi Party government to streamline the public transport sector that includes integration of buses, Metro and autorickshaw services.

To ensure hassle-free travel, the government also plans to introduce a common card which would be used in the Metro service, buses and autorickshaws. The app is currently being tested and would be launched soon, according to deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.

"Commuters using autos will also be able to use the government's application on the line of private taxi aggregators and can fetch location and mobile details of drivers," he said.

Around 40 lakh commuters travel by around 6,000 buses operated by the Delhi Transport Corporation and Sisodia said his government was planning a series of steps to improve the bus service.

"For making the city congestion and pollution-free, we need a better public transport system," Sisodia said.

He said the government had decided to buy 10,000 buses and some of them would be procured through public-private partnership.

The AAP government has set aside Rs 5,085 crore, an increase of 23% over last year, in the budget for the transport sector and Sisodia said the main focus would be to improve public transport to discourage people from using private vehicles.

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