Cluster bus service to be launched in Delhi on May 4

The much-awaited and ambitious cluster bus service to be run by corporate entities and modelled on the public transport system of Paris, will be launched in the city on Wednesday with an initial fleet of 231 swanky low-floor buses.

“We will launch the service on Wednesday. We hope it will bring in a significant change in the entire public transport system,” a senior Transport Department official said.

The service for the first cluster will be run by Star Bus Pvt Ltd in 32 routes in South Delhi. Three corporate entities were already given contract to operate the services in five clusters.

Buses will have an on-board passenger information system similar to that of Delhi Metro which will provide commuters with various information such as upcoming bus stops, expected time of arrival and traffic flow.

Trained staff will operate the buses, which shall come with global positioning system and temperature reader, while conductors will issue tickets through electronic ticketing machines. The fleet will be Euro-IV compliant.

In 2009, the Delhi Government had divided nearly 650 bus routes across the city into 17 clusters — each comprising profitable and non-profitable routes and decided to give each cluster to a private operator.

The cluster bus service was envisaged to replace the ‘killer' Blueline fleet, which has almost been phased out from the Capital.

With launch of the service, the transport system is set to improve further. The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) currently operates around 6,500 buses, including 4,000 low-floor buses.

The Government had, last year, announced the ambitious scheme under which corporate entities were sought to be involved in this transport system on the pattern of cities such as Paris and London.

Officials said the private entities given contract for four other clusters will also soon launch their operations and the total fleet size under the new service is expected to be around 800 buses by August this year.

Non-AC buses will be painted in orange, while those with air-conditioning system shall come in purple hue.

The Government wanted to do away with competition and hence, they devised to provide one cluster to one corporate entity.

According to the plan finalised by the Delhi Integrated Multi-modal Transit System, the Transport Department will finalise the bus fares which will go to the Government while the private operator will be paid a fixed amount on the basis of every kilometre travelled.