Delhi Government's 'Mohalla' Bus Scheme To Be Launched Soon

The Delhi government's ambitious 'mohalla' bus scheme is expected to be rolled out within the next few months with the DTC likely to sign a contract for procuring electric buses within this week, an official said on Wednesday. The mohalla bus service, announced in the 2023-24 Delhi budget, aims to deploy shorter nine-metre electric buses to boost last-mile connectivity in areas with roads that have less width or are crowded.

"We are likely to sign a contract with the e-bus manufacturers this week or early next week for procurement of buses. The delivery of buses will take anywhere between three to five months," the official said. Last week, in an interview with PTI, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said strengthening last-mile connectivity is a key focus area of the government. "We have held several consultations and also constituted a committee. I will also be holding one-on-one meetings with MLAs, and councillors to get first-hand experience. We are also planning to hold public meetings in different areas. After these consultations we will finalise the routes of the service," he said.

Gahlot had said that these buses would ply in a circular motion in a mohalla so that people could reach nearby metro stations, markets or hospitals. The Arvind Kejriwal government has planned to procure more than 2,000 feeder buses to operate on routes that cannot be accessed by 12-metre buses.

A technical committee was constituted by the transport minister in May to decide on routes and operational characteristics of the new bus scheme. The committee has completed the route survey based on the public feedback. "Now the survey data is being tallied with the population data of those, road infrastructure and width of roads," the official said. The mohalla buses will be specifically designed to cater to areas where the width of the road is less or areas that are too crowded for regular 12-metre buses to ply.