Min Gahlot chairs int’l experts consultation on Mohalla Bus scheme
New Delhi: To develop the framework for the Mohalla Bus scheme, Transport minister Kailash Gahlot chaired an international experts consultation on Monday. The virtual consultation was attended by Transport Commissioner Ashish Kundra, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) Managing Director Shilpa Shinde, officials from DTC and Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) and public transportation experts from India, Colombia and the USA.
All the global experts welcomed the Delhi government’s initiative under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal of Mohalla Bus scheme and deemed it to be a game changer for increasing public transport ridership by solving the last-mile connectivity problem. The experts gave recommendations on different aspects of the Mohalla Bus scheme, such as service design, average route
lengths, fare design, fare integration, branding etc, while drawing on case studies or projects they have worked on from around the globe.
Addressing the meeting, Gahlot said, “The route rationalisation study conducted by the Delhi government, which understood the needs and demands of public transport users, has laid the path for introducing the Mohalla buses in Delhi. These buses will operate on shorter distances in Delhi, connecting important points of interest, including transport hubs like metro stations, within neighborhoods across. Under the able leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi government is committed to providing world-class public transport to its citizens.”
As per Gahlot, with the introduction of Mohalla buses and the integration of different transport modes, the Delhi government aims to make the Capital one of the top 10 cities in the world for public transport. He further added that the government is also taking steps to ensure hassle-free operations, including finding new spaces to house the electric buses and electrifying the bus depots. “In the coming years, we plan to integrate different transport modes into a reliable, affordable, convenient, and high-frequency multi-modal transport system,” he said.
