Delhi govt to merge routes to boost public transport

To boost public transport in the city and address last-mile connectivity issues, the Delhi government is trying to increase bus frequency by merging parallel routes.
Beginning this process, the Transport Department put forth a proposal in a meeting of the State Transport Authority, said a department official.
The proposal involves merging 73 routes to come out with better frequency of mini-stage carriage buses, he said.
The Transport Department will also take the help of the School of Planning and Architecture for the route rationalisation exercise, the official said.
There are 73 routes for mini-stage carriage buses totalling 798. These buses provide last-mile connectivity by carrying passengers from residential areas to the Metro stations, he said.

"Route rationalisation will involve shifting buses on routes having less buses and poor frequency. On an average, routes are 17-km long and 14 buses are required for the frequency of 10-15 minutes," the official said.
Merging of routes will eliminate duplicacy of services by the Delhi Transport Corporation and Gramin Seva Services. Route rationalisation exercise was last undertaken in 2009, he added.