United colours of Delhi Transport Corporation

DTC buses have changed colour over time. Yet, concerns about passenger safety remain unchanged. HT reports.

Green

HT Image

Green low-floor buses revolutionised the state-run Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). There are 2,525 such buses in DTC’s fleet, with ramps for the disabled, hydraulic doors and features like automatic transmission, power steering and large windscreens, that make driving and manoeuvrability easy for drivers. The fare in these buses is R5, 10 and 15, depending on distance travelled. These ply on almost all city routes, except a few that connect rural Delhi.

Red

DTC’s cherry-coloured buses are the air-conditioned version of low-floor buses. You will find them on almost all routes across the city (except rural Delhi). The minimum fare is R10 and the maximum is R25. There are 1,250 such buses in DTC fleet.

Purple

With the launch of purple HOHO (Hop-On Hop-Off) buses in October 2010, Delhi joined the league of cities like Paris, London, Kuala Lumpur, Rome, New York and Sydney that have city tourist buses plying at fixed intervals. With a guest relations executive on board, each of these 14 buses connects 30 places of tourist interest, from 8am to 8pm. They charge adults R300 and children R150.

Green & yellow

The DTC also has about 2,525 rickety, standard-floor buses in its fleet. Most of these are now nearing the end of their operational life and would be replaced by new semi-low floor buses. The DTC recently changed the colour pattern of these buses by adding more white.

Blue

Delhi’s first experiment with private buses began in 1992, with these vehicles painted red. Their colour pattern changed to blue when they became notorious for killing people on city roads. But the change in colour did not change the status quo and the government decided to do away with them in November 2010. With a fleet of almost 4,000 buses at one time, the Blueline fleet is now down to just about 240-odd buses. These buses are being phased out steadily and will be completely off road in the next few months.

Orange

This is the first time a company has been given the contract to run private buses in Delhi. 231 orange non-AC buses will ply on selective and pre-identified routes (32 routes in south Delhi — BRT corridor, Lapat Nagar, South Extension — in cluster 1). The fare structure is same as that in DTC buses.