As odd-even days kick in, nearly 500 buses idle at depots

At a time when the national capital needs more public transport alternatives with the odd-even days all ready to set in, at least 400 to 500 buses lie unutilised at depots at any given point owing to reasons like poor maintenance and missed trips.

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.

(Image credit: BCCL)