DTC Interstate Bus Service to Connect Delhi With Bengaluru, Kota and Beyond
The new DTC Interstate bus service will connect Delhi to various cities in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and even Bangalore.
After a long gap of 23 years, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has decided to relaunch its interstate bus services.
In a recent board meeting, DTC received in-principle approval to operate premium interstate buses to various cities in the neighboring states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, etc. As per sources, the new DTC interstate bus service will also include long-distance routes connecting Delhi to the educational hubs of Kota and Bengaluru.
DTC’s new interstate bus fleet will feature both electric and BS-6 compliant diesel buses. DTC’s electric buses will service routes up to 200 kilometers while long distant routes will be served by diesel buses.
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The DTC interstate bus service will feature luxury buses with app-based ticketing facilities and will be equipped with safety features like CCTV cameras, GPS, and panic buttons.
As per officials, the DTC has decided to restart its interstate bus service in a bid to encourage more people to choose public transport.
For the uninitiated, this is not the first time that DTC is considering interstate bus services. DTC used to operate interstate bus services to its neighboring states until 2004, after which the services were discontinued.
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Why Was the DTC InterState Bus Service Suspended in 2004?
Till 2004, DTC used to operate regular buses to Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan.
At the time, DTC buses connected the national capital to cities such as Jaipur, Chandigarh, Udaipur, Shimla, Hardwar, Chamba, Dharamsala, Ganganagar and Pathankot.
However, with the onset of the new millennium, DTC converted its fleet to CNG. It restricted long-distance travel as CNG was not available in the neighboring states back then.
On average, a CNG bus can travel approximately 250 km on a single fill. However, the absence of a robust CNG filling network led DTC to gradually suspend its interstate bus services.
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It also has to be noted that this is not the first time that DTC has decided to resume its interstate bus services.
In 2019, DTC first announced its plans to restart its interstate bus service.
Then in May 2022, the idea resurfaced again and this time, the DTC board resolved to provide an in-principle nod for 38 non-AC and 37 AC CNG buses for interstate operations.
However, the plan did not materialize on both occasions for reasons that remain unclear.
Delhi govt to induct 1500 new Electric buses under @dtchq_delhi. In addition, 75 Intercity CNG buses to ply from Delhi to 5 states on 11 routes.
— Transport for Delhi (@TransportDelhi) May 14, 2022
Strengthening the Public transport for its citizens for both within and outside city travel.#delhi #Publictransport #Dtc pic.twitter.com/v77cnj8nlD
DTC Interstate Bus Service will use a PPP Model
Unlike earlier, DTC will opt for an asset-light business model to operate its interstate bus services. Instead of owing its buses, the corporation intends to operate the service on a revenue-sharing model with private operators.
“I have instructed DTC to develop a comprehensive plan to extend bus facilities to other states. Also, the DTC interstate bus service will operate on a revenue-sharing model with private bus operators. The concept would be demand-driven,” Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot was quoted as saying by TOI.
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DTC’s New Interstate Bus Routes
While DTC has not officially announced any routes as of now, Gahlot has mentioned that the service will cover all major destinations in the neighboring states of Delhi. This includes important cities in the states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, etc.
He also added that the DTC interstate bus service would also operate to far-off places like Bengaluru.
