'Connect Delhi' initiative to integrate city's public transport system

The Delhi government on Wednesday launched the "Connect Delhi" initiative in a bid to make commuting easy for the residents of national capital, officials said.

The initiative will carry out a holistic planning exercise covering all public transport to ensure all areas of Delhi are connected.

The "route rationalisation and last mile connectivity" initiative will bring together multiple stakeholders of the government like the transport department, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), and Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS).

Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, who was present on the occasion to launch the initiative, said through this initiative, the government hopes to build a transport system that is affordable yet efficient.

"People always complain about waiting for a bus for hours or unavailability of transport in their area. Delhi has approximately 460 routes and despite that, the demand for more transport is increasing.

"I hope, through this study, we will be able to figure out how to provide every person some kind of transport within 15-20 minutes and that too in 500 meters of radius," Gahlot said.

He said this is for the first time that, instead of why the government is not able to bring in more buses, the authorities are discussing where a terminal should be built and how routes should be planned.

"For this study, everything should be kept in mind. From autos, taxis, metro, bus, rickshaw -- nothing should be left out," he said.

With various stakeholders working together, "Connect Delhi" initiative plans to integrate the diverse public transport system (buses, cluster buses, Delhi Metro, Metro feeder services, rural transport vehicle, gramin sewa, e-rickshaws) in the national capital to tackle issues related to accessibility, availability and reliability.

On the occasion, World Resources Institute CEO, O.P. Agarwal, DMRC MD Mangu Singh, DTC MD Manoj Kumar, Varsha Joshi -- secretary-cum-commissioner (Transport), Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD), and DIMTS CEO M. Ramsekhar were also present.

--IANS

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