Delhi Transport Corporation to take you on 11 routes across 5 states

NEW DELHI: Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) is planning to reintroduce its once popular interstate bus services, thanks to CNG-run buses customised for long-range travel.
Last week, the DTC board resolved to provide in-principle approval for procurement of 38 non-AC and 37 AC CNG standard floor buses for interstate operations. The buses would connect Delhi to Rishikesh, Haridwar, Dehradun, Haldwani, Agra, Bareilly, Lucknow, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Panipat, and Patiala.

DTC had regular bus services to Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, etc earlier, but it started discontinuing the services from 2001 as its fleet switched entirely to CNG, a fuel not easily available in these states, making long-distance travel almost impossible.
By 2010, DTC’s interstate operations became limited to the NCR because on average a CNG-run low-floor bus had a range of around 250km per fill. While there were plans to extend the services to areas like Meerut or Hapur, they didn’t materialise.
Sources said various technical solutions were being explored, keeping in mind that CNG still might not be as easily available in other states as the NCR. These buses would ply on 11 routes across five states — Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab — and Chandigarh.
“We are exploring different options, including long-range CNG buses. These buses are custom made and have a couple of additional cylinders. These can operate for a longer range without refuelling,” said transport minister and DTC chairman Kailash Gahlot. “With interstate services, we want to make travel more convenient for Delhiites as well as expand our quality services to other geographies,” he added.
Officials said new designs were being introduced by bus manufacturers with composite cylinders instead of the traditional carbon steel cylinders, which are heavier. Compared with conventional buses, the new long-range buses can travel 800-1,000km without a refill, sources said.
An official said interstate bus services used to be very popular and claimed that most commuters preferred DTC buses over other state transport corporations. An official said DTC buses connected Delhi to cities like Jaipur, Chandigarh, Udaipur, Shimla, Haridwar, Chamba, Dharamshala, Ganganagar, Pathankot, Kanakpur (near Indo-Nepal border), among other places.
“As DTC started switching to CNG, interstate services started coming down from 2004 as diesel buses were phased out. As our services were popular, interstate services were also a big revenue generator. Buses from other states currently face no competition from DTC, but that will change as soon as we restart our interstate services,” said the official.