Soon, bus routes at Delhi’s ISBTs to be reorganised to reduce traffic, pollution

There are three ISBTs in Delhi — Kashmere Gate, Anand Vihar and Sarai Kale — from where inter-state buses to different states or cities originate and terminate.

“Currently, there is no systematic segregation… A lot of buses originating and terminating at Anand Vihar also ply from Kashmere Gate… this also includes private buses… leading to heavy traffic snarls on roads and creating difficulties for passengers… Under this plan, buses from a certain state can originate and terminate only at a dedicated ISBT,” said a senior official.

Officials said it will be on similar lines to Delhi’s railway stations.

“There is a method to departures and arrivals at Sarai Rohilla, New Delhi, Old Delhi and Nizamuddin stations… We are planning something similar for buses. For instance, if I have to go to Bihar, I know the bus will ply only from Anand Vihar… and need not go to Kashmere Gate… This plan will help tackle congestion on roads and make it convenient for people,” added the official.

The department has also issued a notice seeking comments from the public and stakeholders.

Here is the plan:

-Buses coming from Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Nepal and other Northern states will originate and terminate at ISBT-Kashmere Gate

-Those from UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar and other eastern states will originate and terminate at ISBT-Anand Vihar.

-Buses from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other Southern and Western states will originate and terminate at ISBT-Sarai Kale Khan.

As per officials, the highest number of inter-state buses run from Kashmere Gate — it sees 1,500 to 1,600 buses a day, which increases to 1,750 a day during the festive months of October, November and March.

Anand Vihar, meanwhile, sees 800-850 buses per day and touches 1,000 during festival time; Sarai Kale Khan sees 200-260 buses on an average per day. This includes private-run All India Transport Buses.

In September, similar changes to decongest the bus terminals were announced such as the same parking fees for private and government buses, fixed time slots for the use of the bus bay, and the use of FASTag for tracking the vehicles. The decision to enforce these changes, as per officials, was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by L-G V K Saxena.