Delhi- Lahore bus travel costlier by 60%

Road trip to Pakistan on the Delhi Transport Corporation-operated Delhi to Lahore service has got costlier with the fare being revised by a steep 60 per cent. After the hike, people using the service from Delhi to Lahore have to shell out ` 2,400 for a oneway ticket, which came into effect from November 1. The DTC said that the fare has been revised after a significant gap of seven years.

The last time the fare was increased was in February 2008 when the ticket cost was set at ` 1,500. “The DTC has increased the fare from ` 1,500 to ` 2,400 for its Delhi- Lahore bus service,” corporation’s spokesperson R. S. Minhas said. This is the steepest increase in the fare of DTC’s Lahore bus service since March 16, 1999, when its fare was just ` 800.

“Delhi- Lahore bus leaves for Pakistan at 6 am every Monday, Wednesday and

● After the hike, people using the service from Delhi to Lahore have to shell out 2,400 for ` a one- way ticket, which came into effect from November 1

Friday from Ambedkar Stadium Bus Terminal while PTDC ( Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation) bus leaves for Pakistan at 6 am every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from the same bus terminal,” a DTC official said.

According to a DTC official, the fare of DelhiLahore bus service was increased from ` 800 to ` 1,250 on February 17, 2004. The service was launched by the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in March 1999. As part of its inaugural run on February 19, 1999, Mr Vajpayee went to attend a summit in Lahore in DTC’s DelhiLahore bus service where he was received by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at Wagah.

The DTC official added that Delhi- Lahore bus service was not halted even after the Kargil War, but it had to be halted in the aftermath of the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, which led to a serious confrontation between the two neighbours. However, Delhi- Lahore bus service was resumed in July, 2003 when bilateral relations between India and Pakistan improved.