No takers for DTC’s new AC nonstop destination buses
93% EMPTY Twenty buses with a capacity of 14,840 are running but only 1,943 people have used the service in the first 14 days because of lack of publicity and awareness; DTC hopes ridership will pick up
An air-conditioned, non-stop DTC bus between Shivaji Stadium and Patparganj running almost empty during office hours. Unbelievable (for a daily bus commuter) but true.
The Destination Bus project launched by the Delhi government on May 1 hasn’t evoked any enthusiasm yet.
Nearly 93% buses are running empty despite offering a comfortable ride in the sweltering heat. The buses that let you travel between your home and office without any stops en route, are getting a ridership of less than 6.5%.
The service, provided by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) on the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), is an attempt to decongest Delhi by giving office goers a cheaper and an easy alternative to using their private cars.
But ridership reports of the first two weeks of the ‘DS’ buses accessed by Hindustan Times show that the target is every far from being achieved.
Only 1,943 people used the service in the first 14 days, while the passenger capacity of the 20 buses that are operating under the scheme is 14,840. Each low-floor cherry coloured air-conditioned bus, which is being used for the service, can carry 53 passengers.
Nearly 50% (264 trips) of the total 560 trips made from May 1 to May 14 had 1-5 passengers. Besides, 160 trips (29%) had zero passengers.
Even as the response to the destination bus service has been lukewarm, the DTC on May 22 launched 20 more buses taking the count of routes covered under the scheme to 40.
Observing that the buses have no takers, the National Green Tribunal criticised the DTC last week saying it wasn’t doing enough to inform people about the service. The green panel then asked the Delhi government and the traffic police to extensively advertise the service. The joint commissioner of police (traffic) was directed to distribute pamphlets in colonies informing people about the pick-up points in their area.
Each bus makes two trips a day. The morning buses begin from residential areas such as Janakpuri, Dwarka, Badarpur border, Rohini and Patparganj and end at office hubs such as Nehru Place, CGO Complex, Connaught Place, and Shastri Bhawan; and vice versa in the evening.
With 41.5% occupancy during the survey period, the Dwarka 6/7 crossing — Nehru Place route is the busiest of all 20 routes. However, ridership on other routes is way lower which is why with just 23.18% ridership, the Rohini Sector 22 — Nehru Place route is the second busiest. The route least travelled is Janakpuri C-2 — Connaught Place (Shivaji Stadium) which has seen only 3% ridership.
Passengers, who used the service, told Hindustan Times that information about Destination Buses at bus stop was lacking and that they had to ask drivers and conductors to find the bus. Others suggested that landmarks must be provided to identify bus stops as many car users wouldn’t know about them.
The corporation is hopeful of seeing a turnaround in ridership in the coming weeks as the number of users of the service has seen a marginal increase. “If we compare the first week of the bus service with the second, there is an increase of over 2%,” a Delhi Transport Corporation official told HT on the condition of anonymity.
As a result, DTCs earnings through this service have also improved although it continues to suffer major losses in running the project. “From May 1-7, we earned ₹20,541 and during May 8-14, the earnings rose to ₹32,895,” the official said.
Each destination bus is earning only about ₹200 per day for the two trips it makes while the estimated earning per bus was ₹1,060. A normal DTC bus that stops at multiples points earns ₹6,000 on an average.
In its official response, the DTC said that most passengers are those who tried it once and returned again for their daily commute as the air-conditioned ride is “tension-free”, cheap, safe and has no crowd at all.
“It takes time for the news to spread. Over three weeks since the launch of the service, people are gradually getting to know about it. The ridership will certainly improve in the following months as we are publicizing it more now,” said DTC spokesperson, Subhash Chandra.