Rerouted feeder bus service leaves Metro commuters stranded

Officials in the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) maintain that the route (ML 27) was not generating adequate revenue. Residents,on the other hand,say that while the stations might not see very high footfall,rush-hour traffic during office and school hours heavily depended on the feeder buses. “After the feeder buses were pulled out of this route,school children and office goers have been put to a lot of inconvenience. With no alternative mode of transport available,the cycle-rickshaw drivers fleece commuters,who have no choice but to pay up,” Krishna Kumar,a resident of Janakpuri told Newsline.

Five buses used to ply on the route,all of which have been put on busier routes. Sources in Rajasthan Bombay Transport,the contractor for DMRC that operates the feeder bus services in the city,said that while the shuttle service was popular during school and office hours,revenue generated through this route was low. “The profit margin was very low on this route. At the same time there are busier routes which are overcrowded and need more buses. The vehicles have been shifted to these routes to ease the pressure,” an official said.

DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal said,“It is not so much about profit maximising as it is to optimise the use of buses. Currently there are around 100 feeder buses that run on 14 routes. These are 18-seater buses and prove inadequate to catering to the growing Metro traffic load. We are trying to make the most of the available buses by putting them on routes that have a higher demand. An order for 300 air-conditioned feeder buses has already been placed and the first batch is expected to come in by January next year.”

Residents in Vikaspuri and West Janakpuri have now written to the Metro and Rajasthan Bombay Transport to resume bus services in the route. “A complete suspension has caused a severe transportation problem for the entire locality. It will be of great help to us if the service is resumed with even a reduced number of buses,” Meera Dhariwal,a regular Metro commuter and Vikaspuri resident said.