DTC shuttle service flagged off in Dwarka

The fleet,currently comprising six cherry-coloured low-floor AC buses,will run along a 24-km route within Dwarka,connecting areas that are out of the Delhi Metro’s reach.

Apart from the bus service that was flagged off by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday morning,Dwarka residents will also be the first to use smartcards on DTC buses in the city.

Similar to the system followed at Metro stations,commuters can buy smartcards,called ‘Go Smart’,issued by the Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System Ltd. (DIMTS),worth up to Rs 500 and use it as a ticket every time they board a shuttle service bus. Passengers will have to swipe the smartcard on the machine installed at the entry door while boarding the bus. The fare will be deducted at the exit door when the passenger gets off.

Commuters will be able to buy smartcards against a security deposit of Rs 50 per card and get them recharged from bus conductors as well as from the DTC depot in Dwarka Sector 8. Deposit refund can be claimed from the Dwarka Sector 8 Depot upon the return of the card.

The bus fares will be calculated on a per kilometre basis. For the first four km,fare would be calculated at Rs 2.50 per km; beyond that,the fare will be Rs 1.25 per km. The maximum fare charged will be Rs 25. A flat rate of Rs 25 would be charged if a passenger does not swipe his/her card at the time of getting off the bus,officials said.

Tickets will also be manually issued by conductors on the bus. The buses will also be tracked through the Global Positioning System.

A pilot of the Automated Fare Collection System will be run by the DIMTS in collaboration with a US-based firm,Cubic Transportation Systems India Pvt Limited,which has recently set up base in Hyderabad.

Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said that while the system will gradually be extended to other parts of the city,the government is looking at integrating it with the Delhi Metro. “We will be installing 20,000 machines for the 10,000 buses that will eventually be part of the bus fleet in the city. Buses that are part of the cluster model will also have these machines,” he added. The AFCS is based on latest technology and would be able to complete one transaction in 300 milli-seconds.

Dikshit said: “The bus service will fulfill the local transportation needs of the area. We will leave no stone unturned to provide the best of facilities to our citizens,” Dikshit said.

The CM also inaugurated a new bus depot in the sub-city,taking the total number of bus depots in the city to 36. The depot can provide parking to more than 100 buses.

BRT convenient: CM
Speaking about the Bus Rapid Transit Corridor in the city,Dikshit said that her government has revised BRT lane system keeping in view suggestions received from the public. “BRT is now being accepted as a convenient system to ensure lane-wise discipline on roads. We have been getting queries about the system from other cities,” she said.