Trial run of mohalla bus service starts on two routes in Delhi

The nine-metre-long buses are being introduced to boost last-mile connectivity. The buses, as against the standard 12-m-long vehicles plying on Delhi roads currently, will be fully electric. They will have 23 seats of which six will be reserved for women.

Based on learnings and feedback from the trial run, the scheme will be rolled out in two to three weeks, said Gahlot in a press conference before flagging off the bus.

A hundred buses are planned to be launched every month, while the government has placed work orders for 2,080 vehicles and aims to introduce them all by 2025. Of these, 1,040 will be operated by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and the rest by DIMTS (Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited), the minister said.

Considering that such routes are being designed for the first time, Gahlot said the government is in discussions with IIT-Delhi and other institutes that use big data. The Transport Department, DTC and DIMTS are studying the routes separately also, he added.

These buses will ply in areas currently unserved by the 12-metre buses. “In these areas, the routes will connect important bus terminals, commercial centres, Metro stations, schools and hospitals,” Gahlot said.

Dedicated depots for these electric mohalla buses have also been identified — six in the North zone, two in the South, six in the West and two more in the East zone.

(The writer is an intern with The Indian Express)