Commuting on public transport in the national Capital is set to be easier with implementation of a comprehensive DTC route rationalisation plan. The plan has been prepared by the Delhi Traffic Police in association with the Transport Department and the DIMTS. These agencies have identified 29 routes, named as trunk routes that did not have proper bus connectivity.
As per the plan, buses will be available on these trunk routes at every five minutes and cover important locations like railway stations, airport and prominent markets along with residential colonies. A majority of these routes are located along the Ring Road and the Outer Ring Road.
Officials said idea behind the rationalisation plan is to provide a robust public bus transport network to over 50 lakh city residents who commute by bus in the national Capital daily. As per the plan, DTC buses on these routes would be available at a frequency varying between 5 to10 minutes between 6 am and 11 pm on the trunk routes.
“The trunk routes will connect major destinations of the city like railway stations, inter-state bus terminals, major commercial hubs and residential colonies with a population that depends largely on city buses,” said an official. A presentation of the modified bus routes was made by the Delhi Traffic Police before Delhi transport minister Ramakant Goswami on Tuesday.
Some of the major routes which have been included in the trunk route plan includes Ring Road, Outer Ring Road, route number 971, 764, 73, 114, 131, 214, 236, 307, 357, 405, 419, 502, 578, 604, 611, 717, 729, 926, 471, M-14, Gl-23, 764, 740 and 534. . “Currently, around 750 buses commute on these routes. We have proposed to roll out another 450 buses. Once around 1,200 buses are available on these routes, it will be enough to meet the frequency of five minutes on most of the trunk routes. On some routes, the expected frequency will be between 8-10 minutes,” said the official.
“The proposed plan basically defines the 29 routes in three forms - concentric routes, radial routes on major arterial roads and east-west corridor. The focus of the route plan is largely biased towards providing better connectivity to outer Delhi areas and East Delhi with the rest of the city,” said a senior traffic police official.
According to police, the availability of buses in Outer and Trans-Yamuna areas was poor despite high population density in these areas. “Once operational, the trunk routes will cater to around 12 lakh people daily. In order to make the bus service reliable, the plan also suggests the transport department to provide passenger information system at the bus stops on these routes,” officials said.
The proposed route rationalisation plan has been made on the basis of a survey done by DIMTS wherein the availability of buses and the actual requirement was assessed. It also included survey of the volume of traffic on a particular route, the volume of commuters and the major catchment areas on the route which could be catered to by tweaking the existing bus routes, they said. The officials said they have also proposed the transport department to roll out more buses on these routes so as to ensure bus service as per the stipulated frequency.