About Delhi Local Transport

Roads were the main source through which transportation was achieved in Delhi. Railways were also another means of transport where Metro rails popped in. The length of the road was per 100km² within 1749 km, where Delhi was considered to possess the highest road density in India. The main roadways of Delhi are outer ring road, ring road where the density of traffic was nearly 110,000 per day in the year 2001. 28,508 km was the total road length of Delhi where 388 km were for the national highways. The DTC buses take the responsibility for major bus services, apart from those auto rickshaws, taxis and cycle rickshaws are available. The maintenance of roads is done by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Public works department (PWD), Delhi Cantonment board (DCB), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), and Delhi development authority (DDA).

Buses in Delhi

The Delhi Transport Corporation takes responsibility for the providing the world’s largest cluster of buses which is CNG powered. Delhi possesses the (BRT) or bus rapid transitional system which was adopted after Pune. Being the largest and most popular transport system, Delhi buses satisfied the need of traveling for nearly 60% of Delhi people. The state maintained Delhi Transport Corporation or (DTC) operates the (CNG) or compressed natural gas buses. Other various blue line bus operators and chartered bus operators are also present. The private bus owners who want to operate buses in Delhi should obtain a permit from the state transport authority. The best part of moving around in the bus is that they navigate through the intra city routes of the city. The buses also travel through the railway special routes, Mudrika (ring), Bahri Mudrika (outer ring), metro feeder routes, and also through the intra city bus routes.

The BRT or Bus Rapid Transit is a unique introduction as it helped in dedicated corridors and enhanced bus service. New low floor buses (with 400mm floor heights) and air conditioned buses are another innovation that DTC has brought into existence. This new category of buses replaces the conventional buses.

Renovation plans are being projected where advanced bus shelters and GPS are to be introduced which makes easy presentation of bus arrivals and departures.

It was by 2010 that Delhi possessed nearly 8000 buses in which Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) provided 6000 buses. In that sequences were 2000 for blue line buses, 1100 were semi low floor, 3125 were low floor, and 1000 were air conditioned buses. The city already possessed 655 buses in which were low floored and few AC and other non-AC. From the 357 routes the enhancement of routes has led upto 670. Plans were so executed that by 2009, 2500 buses were added. The city was partitioned into 17 clusters where each cluster was provided private operators. It was by September 2008 that the first cluster was approved. The very first cluster consists of 32 routes, which had 270 private buses and 295 DTC buses. Nearly 4000 driver were appointed for those buses and 20 percent of them were AC buses.

It was in 2009 that DTC upgraded its method and introduced smart cards for boarding the buses, where people pay through smart cards. The machines were planned to be installed in nearly 10,000 buses.

Auto Rickshaws in Delhi

One of the famed and renowned means of public transport in Delhi is the Auto rickshaws. They are beneficial for the public as they are inexpensive than taxis. It is really a tricky task to get an auto in Delhi as not all the auto drivers accept to take meter charge. Bargaining should be your talent and that too for an agreeable rate.

Taxis in Delhi

The private owners as well the Indian tourism department are the ones who operate most of the taxis. And for the same reason taxis are not an integral part in Delhi. Private companies also operate taxis as they are permitted by the tourism ministry. The on call radio taxi service is also available in Delhi which would be expensive from the normal taxis.

Cycle Rickshaws in Delhi

When short distance travel is considered, then cycle rickshaws are the best choice. For inexpensive and environment friendly experience, the pedal powered cycle rickshaws are the best choice. For tourists and visitors, it would be an exciting experience and they would use it for a joyride. The sad part is that cycle rickshaws has been terminated in traffic filled areas like Chandni Chowk as their draggy nature created traffic congestion in the streets of old Delhi.  In spite of all these aspects, they stand to be the best and cheapest means for the public.

Metro in Delhi

The economic growth along with large- scale immigration and the enhancement in population, lead to the rising demand for improved transport facility. This focused on the enhancement and elevation on the present transport infrastructure. Similar to other leading cities, Delhi also face issues like pollution, congestion and less productivity. To put an end to all these issues and to improve the transportation facility and to serve the masses, the state and union government initiated the aspiring Mass Rapid Transit System which is familiarly known as Delhi metro in the year 1998. The commercial operations were started by them in the year 2002 on December 24th. Performance as well as efficiency standards were set, which helped in extending it more. By 2010, the metro operated in 5 lines with a total length of 190 km and 132 stations. Many other lines were constructed and operations were initiated.