Transport in Delhi

Delhi has significant reliance on its transport infrastructure. The city has developed a highly efficient public
transport system with the introduction of the Delhi Metro,[1] which is undergoing a rapid modernization and
expansion since 2006.[2] There are 16.6 million registered vehicles in the city as of 30 June 2014, which is the
highest in the world among all cities, most of which do not follow any pollution emission norm (within municipal
limits), while the Delhi metropolitan region (NCR Delhi) has 11.2 million vehicles. Delhi and NCR lose nearly 42
crore (420 million) man-hours every month while commuting between home and office through public transport,
due to the traffic congestion.[3] Therefore, serious efforts, including a number of transport infrastructure projects,
are under way to encourage usage of public transport in the city.[4]

DTC AC Buses

History
Prior to independence in the 1940s, public transport in the city was in private hands, with people relying mainly
on tongas and the bus service of the 'Gwalior Transport Company' and 'Northern India Transport Company'.[5] But
with the growing city, it soon proved inadequate, thus Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus system was
established in May 1948. The next big leap in city transport was the opening of Delhi Metro, a rapid transit
system in 2002.
Overview
Public transport in the metropolis includes the Delhi Metro, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and DIMTS
(Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System) bus system, auto-rickshaws, cycle-rickshaws, e-rickshaws,
Grameen Seva and taxis. With the introduction of Delhi Metro, a rail-based mass rapid transit system, rail-based
transit systems have gained ground. Other means of transit include suburban railways, inter-state bus services
and private taxis which can be rented for various purposes. However, buses continue to be the most popular
means of transportation for intra-city travel, catering to about 60% of the total commuting requirements.[6]

Private vehicles account for 30% of the total demand for transport, while the rest of the demand is met largely by
auto-rickshaws, taxis, rapid transit system and railways.

Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) serves Delhi for both domestic and international air connections, and is
situated in the south-western corner of the city. In 2009–2010, IGI recorded a traffic of more than 25.01[7] million
passengers, both Domestic and International.[8] Heavy air traffic has emphasised the need for a secondary
airport, which is expected to be Taj International Airport near Greater Noida, alongside the Delhi-Agra highway.

The only international rail service in Delhi was the Samjhauta Express to Lahore,which was stopped in 2019
following a standoff. It is possible to change trains to board rail services to Bangladesh and Nepal which
commence in other cities of India. For the future, a high-speed rail link is being considered that would link New
Delhi with Kunming, China via Myanmar[9]

Intra-city Transport

Road transport
Roads in Delhi are maintained by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi
Cantonment Board, Public Works Department and Delhi Development Authority. At 1749 km of road length per
100 km2, Delhi has one of the highest road densities in India. Major roadways include the Ring Road and the
Outer Ring Road, which had a traffic density of 110,000 vehicles per day in 2001. Total road length of Delhi was
28,508 km including 388 km of National Highways. Major road-based public transport facilities in Delhi are
provided by DTC buses, auto-rickshaws, taxis and cycle-rickshaws.
Buses
Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) operates the world's largest fleet of CNG-powered buses. After Pune, Delhi
was the second city in India to have an operational Bus rapid transit (BRT) system. However the BRT was
dismantled in 2016 due to accidents and congestion.[10]

Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transits

Delhi has one of India's largest bus transport systems. Buses are the most popular means of transport catering
to about 60% of Delhi's total demand.[11] Buses are operated by the state-owned Delhi Transport Corporation
(DTC), which owns largest fleet of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-fueled buses in the world, private Blueline bus
operators and several chartered bus operators. It is mandatory for all private bus operators to acquire a permit
from the State Transport Authority. The buses traverse various well-defined intra-city routes. Other than regular
routes, buses also travel on Railway Special routes; Metro Feeder routes. Mudrika (Ring) and Bahri Mudrika
(Outer Ring) routes along Ring and Outer-Ring road respectively are amongst the longest intra-city bus routes in
the world. The DTC has started introducing air-conditioned buses and brand new low-floor buses (with floor
height of 400 mm and even higher on one third area as against 230 mm available internationally.) on city streets
to replace the conventional buses. A revamp plan is underway to improve bus-shelters in the city and to integrate
GPS systems in DTC buses and bus stops so as to provide reliable information about bus arrivals. In 2007, after
public uproar concerning the large number of accidents caused by privately owned Blueline buses, the Delhi
government, under pressure from the Delhi High Court decided that all Blueline Buses shall be phased out and be
eventually replaced by low floor buses of the state-owned DTC.[12] The Delhi Government has decided to expedite
this process and will procure 6,600 low floor buses for the DTC by commonwealth games next year in mid
2020.[13]

As of May 2023, the fleet size of buses in Delhi is as follows: