Mohalla buses will be 'game changer': Delhi CM Atishi

New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS) Calling the soon-to-be-launched mohalla buses a "game changer", Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Tuesday inspected 150 buses and their charging station at the Kushak Nala bus depot ahead of their launch over the next two weeks for offering last-mile connectivity in congested areas of the city.

The CM, in a post on social media platform X, said, "Mohalla buses will be a game changer for last mile connectivity in Delhi. These nine-metre buses will be able to reach all the crowded areas where big buses cannot."

"Today I inspected these electric low-floor Mohalla buses at Kushak Nala depot. Equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, these buses can run up to 200 km in just 1 hour of charging. In the next 2 weeks, 150 Mohalla buses will hit the roads of Delhi and by 2025, 2,140 Mohalla buses will connect every colony of Delhi," she said.

"Under the guidance of @ArvindKejriwal ji, the people of Delhi have got world-class public transport infrastructure in the last 10 years and this work will continue in future also," said CM Atishi.

Earlier, the trial run of the mohalla bus service commenced in July on two routes - Majlis Park to Pradhan Enclave and Akshardham to Mayur Vihar Phase III.

An official said almost half of these over 2,000 buses will be operated by the DTC and the rest by the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System. These green buses will be air-conditioned and have ticket charges similar to other AC buses of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). Pink passes issued to women for free travel will also be valid on these buses.

In October, the trial run of these buses was also started on the Munirka-Vasant Kunj circular route.

The new route aimed to improve connectivity of educational institutes, hospitals and commercial centres.

The mohalla buses are smaller in length and carrying capacity as compared to the regular 12-metre-long DTC buses. These buses have a seating capacity of 23 and offer space for 13 passengers to travel while standing.

Other routes on which mohalla bus trials have been conducted include Kailash Colony metro station to PNB Geetanjali Colony near Malviya Nagar metro station. Trials have also been conducted between Lok Kalyan Marg Metro Station to Vasant Vihar Metro Station, a route which aims to give last-mile connectivity to students of the Delhi University colleges in South Campus near Dhaula Kuan.

--IANS