The ambitious “Mohalla bus scheme” of the Delhi government is expected to be implemented within the next few months, and the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) is set to execute a deal this week to acquire electric buses for the project, according to an official.
The “Mohalla bus service” was included in the Delhi budget for 2023–24 with the intention of deploying shorter, more movable electric buses measuring nine meters in length to improve last-mile connectivity in regions with narrow or congested roadways.
“For the purchase of buses, we are expected to execute a deal with the e-bus makers this week or early next week. Bus deliveries are expected to take three to five months, according to an official.
In an interview, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot stated that improving last-mile connectivity is one of the government’s main priorities.
“We have established a committee and undertaken several consultations. To get firsthand knowledge, I will also meet privately with council members and MLAs. Additionally, we want to have public gatherings around the country. We’ll finalize the service’s itineraries after these talks, he added, noting that the buses would circulate about a mohalla so passengers could get to neighboring hospitals, markets, or metro stations.
More than 2,000 feeder buses will be purchased by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi administration to travel on routes that 12-metre buses cannot go. The transport minister appointed a technical group in May to choose the new bus system’s routes and operating features.
Based on comments from the public, the committee has finished the route survey. The official stated, “Now the survey data is being added to the population data of those, road infrastructure, and road width.” The Mohalla buses will be made especially for regions where the width of the road is narrower or where it is too congested for standard 12-meter buses to operate.
