DTC needs improved infra to address Delhi’s traffic woes

DTC, which once used to be the backbone of public transit in the National Capital for almost 50 years, has fallen into dire state as CAG’s recent report pointed out that the agency has been in loss continuously since 2013-14 fiscal year. We spoke with Sameer Sharma of DIMTS to understand how the authorities are planning to improve the current position of the bus transit in Delhi

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) released a report on December 3 that highlighted that Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) was the only corporation that operates in financial loss. Losses range from Rs 2914.40 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 3843.62 crore in the year of 2017-18. The CAG was also critical of the lack of infrastructural development for buses in Delhi, highlighting a deficit in the number of bus shelters and ISBTs.

Frequent delays, overcrowding, lack of monitoring of fare deposits plague the DTC buses, hence, marking a proportional decrease in the commuters using the buses over the years. Therefore, the depleted portrayal of the corporation holds up as can be clearly observed on ground. But, the authorities are working to better the state of the bus network and integrate it with other transit networks of the city. To learn more about how the authorities are trying to better their current condition, team Urban Update spoke with Sameer Sharma, Vice President of Delhi Integrated Multi-modal Transit System Ltd (DIMTS).   

Why isn’t DTC not as successful presently as it used to be earlier?

The major issue that DTC is facing is the lack of addition of new buses to the fleet. No new buses have been added to the fleet since 2010 because of various issues, procurement problems being the chief in them. The number of buses had declined from 6000 to almost 3700. Currently, DTC has inducted around 1700 buses in cluster operations. Secondly, the introduction of metro has provided a more convenient albeit more expensive alternative to people. People prefer metros for longer commutes.

As you said, the number of DTC buses has gone down whereas on the other hand the metro network has been extended continuously in recent years. How is the corporation planning to strengthen the existing DTC infrastructure?

Commuters don’t have much of an alternative to the metro as buses are often over crowded due the shortage. But now Delhi government is in the process of adding 3000 buses to the fleet and in coming three months a total of 1000 buses will be added in the fleet and the procurement of remaining 2000 buses is also under process so once we will have the 3000 buses then you add the passengers. Hence, I believe that we will soon solve the problem.

As the streets in Delhi are already congested, how would the inclusion of new buses affect Delhi’s traffic?

This is a wrong understanding of congestion. Around 100 people are inside a bus during peak timings. Hence, the congestion isn’t caused by the buses; it is caused by the excessive number of private vehicles plying on roads. We must take the examples of Chinese and European cities, where buses and other public transits are prioritised and even restrictions are enforced on private vehicles. Take the example of London and Singapore. Taxes are so stringent for owning and operating a car that in a year’s time one ends up paying taxes equivalent to the cost of the car itself. Such policies provide the base of their transit models and Indian cities would be better off by implementing similar guidelines. So for Chandni Chowk, which is one of the most congested areas of Delhi, the focus should be on the public transits rather than private vehicles.

Buses have to be prioritised in the congested areas not the other way round, if there is congestion it will stop the bus. At intersections, we are aiming to give them by introducing reforms like bus jumper lanes and more.

When will we see these bus jumper lanes in Delhi?

Presently, we are discussing it with PWD and traffic police. We are planning to launch a pilot of the project for Moti Nagar intersection and would hopefully began the work soon.

How is DTC planning to shift to e-buses?

A total of 1000 electric buses are being procured for the city out of which the tender for 385 has already been floated. The tender for the remaining is still under process and the tender would hopefully be released soon. DTC has also been given the nod for the procurement of 300 more buses. As for the paradigm shift, charging stations are currently being installed in bus depots. So, I would say that Delhi is ready for a shift to electric buses.

So do you think DMRC and DTC would be working together in future for the convenience of commuters?

There is such an agency and it is called Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning & Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC). It is housed in the DDA’s main office and is under the command of Anil Baijal, Lieutenant General, Delhi. UTTIPEC’s role is to bring all the various transport agencies together and implement various projects in unison. Under UTTIPEC banner, implementation of new projects brings together these agencies and they deliberate the smooth execution of any project in question. There is a committee constituted under the traffic management authority of the city, where multi-modal groups are formed. Due to the input of such agencies, now you may find that each DC has been assigned the duty to integrate transport alternatives in areas which encompass any metro station. However, there are certain issues we face as of now. Acquisition of land is the major amongst these issues. It is not essentially easy to juggle responsibilities between various agencies. We got so many committees and discussions to improve the situation in the future. But challenges persist.