DTC looks at smart cards for popular service

“Dwarka has turned out to be a typical case in which you cannot convince people to leave their cars and use public transport,” he said.

“We have an air-conditioned bus service of six buses exclusively for Dwarka sub-city,but the number of people availing it has been disappointing,” he said. As per the figures provided by the Corporation,the per-kilometre earning of the Mudrika service in Dwarka is barely Rs 3 to 4 per kilometre with nearly 25 smart cards sold on board so far.

Officials are now looking at connecting the service with more profitable routes in Kapashera and Uttam Nagar. “The Yamuna-Mudrika service,on the other hand,has received a good response since November 28. The automated fare collection system will work better with this line as the number of people travelling is higher,” he said.

As per the DTC figures,the per-kilometre earning on this service is about Rs 19 to 20 which matches the per-kilometre earning of DTC’s overall bus service across the city. This amounts to about Rs 4,000 earned on each bus run on the route. “We are,in fact,trying to shorten the trip of the service as the route is too long and crowded for the bus to complete its trip on time,” a DTC official added.

The 36-km route will begin and terminate at Kashmere Gate ISBT and connect areas like Shastri Park,Khajuri Khas,Yamuna Vihar,Nand Nagari,Dilshad Garden Extension and Laxmi Nagar.

With a view to introduce ticket-less travel for public transport in Delhi during the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held in October,the government had introduced the automated ticketing system as a pilot project on the 24-km long Dwarka Mudrika service. Apart from regular tickets,the commuter is given the option of buying a smart card worth Rs 500 and swiping it on the machine installed at the entrance of the bus at the time of boarding. This system is similar to the fare system used by the Delhi Metro.