Nearly 500 buses idle at depots

New Delhi: Even as the city grapples with the extra strain on public transport during the odd-even days, at least 400 to 500 buses lie unutilised at depots at any given point. The reasons range from poor maintenance to missed trips. This is, at times, equal to the total bus fleet in some of the smaller cities.

According to an analysis by Centre for Science and Environment ( CSE), the number of passengers availing the DTC bus service is stagnating. If DTC were to utilise its entire fleet, complete all scheduled trips and eliminate missed trips, it can carry at least 25 lakh additional passengers daily.

“The odd-even formula is an opportunity to put in place a plan to improve public transport services to meet the additional commuting demand from halving of personal cars on roads, which can be sustained and carried forward even after the programme is over,” says Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director, CSE.

CSE’s fleet utilisation of 83.99% during 2014-15 “is dismal and much worse than what other state transport undertakings in different cities have achieved – 95% in Bangalore and Chandigarh”, says CSE.

Only 79.65% of the daily trips are completed in Delhi against 85.76% in 2011-12. Worse, 3.3 lakh less passengers per day are using the service compared to 2012-13.