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Route rationalisation gets a thumbs down from traffic experts in Delhi

Even as the Delhi government pushes for route rationalisation and attempts to introduce a new fleet of smaller buses, traffic experts have completely rejected the idea, claiming that it would increase the cost for the commuter and promote use of private vehicles.

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Even as the Delhi government pushes for route rationalisation and attempts to introduce a new fleet of smaller buses, traffic experts have completely rejected the idea, claiming that it would increase the cost for the commuter and promote use of private vehicles.

They further said the scheme to introduce mini-buses will increase the travelling time for commuters, as it would force people to take as many as three buses to reach their destination. "By withdrawing buses from interior routes, the government will be forcing people to take at least two to three buses to reach their destination," said a traffic expert, requesting anonymity.

He added: "For instance, in order to reach Okhla from Mayur Vihar, a person would have to take a bus from Mayur Vihar to Noida-Link Road, take a bigger bus from Noida-Link Road to reach to Okhla periphery and then take yet another bus from the periphery road to the destination."
The Delhi government officials, however, maintained that the mini-buses will help de-congest internal roads, thereby helping reduce the pollution levels in the city. As part of the state's route rationalisation scheme, the current size DTC buses will run only on arterial roads while smaller buses will operate continuously on internal roads.

Earlier, the plan had hit a roadblock with the Delhi government's Finance Department asking the Transport Department to reconsider the proposal as it may burden the exchequer in the long run. Department sources had cited low capacity and high maintenance as the prime reasons behind the rejection.

Meanwhile, recently, the government once again ordered the implementation of a 2012 DMITS report for decongestion in the national Capital. Experts, however, cited global examples, wherein end-to-end mode of transportation has been a major success. "It has been noticed around the world that commuters would rather take direct transportation than multiple modes. Apart from being cost-effective, it is also less time consuming. If introduced, the mini bus scheme would be a major deterrent to people using public transport," said traffic expert PK Sarkar.

He added that while there are 750 DTC routes in Delhi, 150 were scrapped over the years for various reasons. "The government should act on reintroducing these routes rather than initiating new schemes," Sarkar said. At present, there are around 5,800 buses, including 4,200 DTC and 1,600 cluster buses plying across the city.

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