India's transport sector is large and diverse. India has a federal polity and the administration of the transport sector is entrusted to different agencies at different levels. All states are planning to form Unified Metropolitan Transit Agency. The article covers the case study of Delhi.

1. N° 6 - November/December 2009

2. Dossier
,-
From left to right: Manoj Kumar Aggarwal, Public Policy Research and Project Management Consultant and formerly Senior Vice
President (Road Transport), Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd., New Delhi; Vijita Singh Aggarwal, Management
Professional, Faculty Member GGS Indraprastha University New Delhi and Iaspal Singh, Deputy Manager (Road Transport), Delhi
Integrated Multi·Modal Transit System Ltd., New Delhi, India
The success story of Transport Authority •
In
Delhi
••• mission of DIMTSis to establish new standards of excellence in public transportation and allied infrastructure systems
The
India's transport sector is large and diverse. India has a federal polity and the administration of the transport sector is entrusted
to different agencies at different levels. The current structure of governance for the transport sector is not equipped to deal with
the emerging problems of urban transport. The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD),like some other states
in India, has embarked upon an ambitious programme of promoting an integrated public transport system.
Delhi - Brief Demographic Profile three agencies: the Municipal Corpo- poration) and private operators were
The capital city of Delhi is the second ration of Delhi (which controls 96% of plying buses at the ratio of 50:50. In
largest city in India, with a total area the land area), the New Delhi Munici- addition, there are about 4,000 char-
of l,483km2. The projected popula- pal Council (which controls 3% of the tered buses catering mainly to office
tion of the National Capital Territory land area, mainly in central Delhi) and commuters. In April 2008, the govern-
of Delhi is 17-44 million, with 95% in the Delhi Cantonment Board (which ment started the first Bus Rapid Tran-
urban areas as on 1 March 2009 (Eco- controls 1% of the land area). sit (BRD corridor, with a total length
nomic Survey, 2008-2009), growing at The transportation network in Delh i of 14.5km. The construction of the
a rate of 4% per annum. It is projected is predominantly road based with Delhi Metro is a major step towards
that Delhi and its satellite towns will l,284km of road per 100km2. Current- strengthening the public transporta-
be among the most populous cities in ly, there are two modes of public trans- tion system in Delhi. The Delhi Metro
the world by 2020 (Urban Age, 2008). port: metro and bus. At present, about covered a total distance of 76.7km in
Delhi has a state elective assembly 6,600 buses are operating on more Phase I, including three corridors. In
and the local body administrative re- than 325 routes. In June 2009, the Phase II, the Delhi Metro is planned to
sponsibilities are shared between Public Operator (Delhi Transport Cor- cover a length of 127km by 2010.
---'-----------------
26 PTI November/December 2009

3. Modal Split of Person Trips in Delhi* (Figures in Percent)
59.8
02000 - 2001
41.5
D 2007 - 2008
3.1 3.6 5.3 6.8
0.0 4.1 0.7 0.7
Car/Taxi Two Auto Bus Metro Train (R) Bicycle Cycle
Wheelers Rickshaw Rickshaws
* Total Number of Person Trips/Per Day (excluding walking) 14.4 million
Source: RITES Delhi Traffic and Forecast Study (2008)
In 2007'2009, around 46% of total Strategic Planning VII. Infrastructure project implementation
personal trips in Delhi were made The strategic functions involve long VIII. Regulation and enforcement
using the public transport system term planning and policy-making, 'tak-
IX. Strategic operations manage_ment
(bus and metro), which included 4% ing decisions on long term investments
X. Public transport service planning
by metro (RITES Limited, 2008). The and capital financing, etc.
number of vehicles on Delhi's roads XI. Public transport operation and
Regulatory management
has increased from 1.9 million in 1991
Regulatory functions involve a range In Delhi, there are different agencies
to over 6.2 million by June 2009, an
of functions such as: issuing of driving which are responsible for different roles
increase of 226% in the last 19 years
licenses, registration of vehicles, road- related to the transport sector. The
(Transport Department, GNCTD). Bus
worthiness certification, etc., testing Delhi Development Authority, the three
ridership has decreased from 7.0 mil-
of vehicle emission performance, set- Municipal Bodies and the state Govern-
lion passenger trips in 2000-2001 to
ting fares for different kjnds of public ment exercise jurisdiction on various
6.0 million passenger trips in 2007- transport, para transit and ensuring aspects of Public Transport, with result-
2008. On the other hand, trips per- compliance to safety regulations and ant inefficiencies.
formed by car and two-wheelers have prescribed emission standards. The Transport Department in Delhi is
increased.
headed by elected representative and
Provisioning
has three key divisions, as follows (see
Creation of Urban Mass Transport The provisioning function involves cre-
figure 2 on page 29).
Authority (UMTA) - National Urban ating infrastructures for public trans-
Transport Policy port, be it: different modes, roads and The State Transport Authority (STA)
was created to oversee the integra-
In its National Urban Transport Pol- flyovers, under-passes, BRTs,terminals,
tion of different modes of transport,
icy, the Central Government advo- depots, interchange points, automatic
fare collection mechanisms, Automatic to provide policy input and to perform
cated setting up Unified Metropolitan
Vehicle Tracking Systems, etc. the strategic role of balancing the
Transport Authorities (UMTAs) in all supply-side and the demand-side of
million-plus cities to facilitate more
Operations
coordinated planning, implementa-
Operations fall into two categories: the
tion of urban transport programs and
operation of common services such as pas-
projects, and integrated management senger information systems for the entire
of urban transport systems. It was Figure 1: Integrated Public
network, and the actual public transport Transport System
thought that UMTAs should function services provided by individual operators.
as umbrella bodies which regulate
the overall performance of the pub- Transport Sector Structure in Delhi
lic transport system and ensure that A transport body needs to fulfill differ- Strategic
Regulatory'
the cities have comprehensive pub- ent roles and functions, which include: Planning
lic transport systems. The key role of I. Strategic planning
these agencies should be to design
II. Management, policy planning
networks and routes, assess demand,
III. System/corridor planning
contract services, monitor perform-
IV. Financial planning Provisioning Operations
ance and manage common facilities
like bus stations and terminals. V. Long and short-term priority setting
There are four requirements to an in- VI. Decision making for investment and
tegrated Public Transport System viz. operating subsidies
---------------_.-
November/December 2009 PTI 27

4. Dossier
route of creating an agency to look
Table 1: after the integration process in Delhi.
The roles of different agencies in Delhi In July 2006, GNCTD incorporated a
100% Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV),
Organisation Functions named Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal
Transport Department I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X Transit System (DIMTS) Limited for:
United Traffic & Transportation • the planning, designing, develop-
Infrastructure planning and I, II, III, VII
Engineering Committee
ment, integration and operation
Delhi Development Authority I, II, III, VII
and maintenance of public transport
New Delhi Municipal Corporation I, II, III, IV, V, VI
systems;
Municipal Corporation of Delhi I, II, III, IV, V, VI • the planning, managing and financing
Delhi Cantonment Board I, II, III, IV, V, VI of public transport through fare-box
Public Works Department VI and other means, including private
Planning Department I, II, III, IV, V, VI sector involvement; and
Finance Department I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X • the organizing, planning, coordina-
State Government I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X tion and control of operations and
National highways Authority of India II, IV, V, VI maintenance of public transport
Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) VII, VIII, IX, X, XI services.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI
The mission of DIMTS is to estab-
lish new standards of excellence in
I = strategic planning; II = management, policy planning; .111 = sys-
tem/corridor planning; IV =
financial planning; V =
long and short- public transportation and allied in-
term priority setting; VI = decision making for investment and oper- frastructure systems that will keep
ating subsidies; VII = infrastructure project implementation; VIII = pace with the growth in demand,
regulation and enforcement; IX = strategic operations management;
X = public transport service planning; XI =
public transport operation and to provide reliable, safe, acces-
and management sible, user-friendly and sustainable
public transport within walking dis-
tance for commuters. The key role of
DIMTS is to look after the integration
aspects of different modes of trans-
management. The authority is mainly isting and future public transport sys-
port, which include integrated fare.
responsible for the issuance/renewal tems in a seamless manner.
Delhi Metro has already implemented
of permits forcommercial vehicles Accordingly, GNCTD planned and ap- the Automatic Fare Collection System
(passenger and goods), fare fixation proved the implementation of a mul- (AFCS). However, there is a need to
of metered taxis, metered auto and ti-modal, integrated, city-wide mass implement the AFCS in other modes
stage carriage buses, the collection transit system to increase mass tran- such as buses and new modes that
of authorization fees, etc. The author- sit in Delhi with many corridors suit- are being planned.
ity is headed by a Board consisting of able for the construction of different
However, it was felt that DIMTS was
the Commissioner/Secretary (Trans- modes of Urban Mass Transit System.
hamstrung by government proce-
port) who acts as the Chairperson,
This comprised 20 metro corridors, 27 dures. It was accordingly decided to
two MLAs (Members of Legislative As-
Bus Rapid Transit corridors, six Light bring in a private partner, who will
sembly), a Joint Commissioner (Traffic
Rail corridors and three Mono rail cor- contribute management expertise to
Police) and the Secretary (STA).
ridors, in a phased manner. the company. Infrastructure Develop-
Although the branch is headed by the ment Finance Company (IDFC) Ltd de-
Secretary (STA), over a period of time, Creation of a Transport Authority in cided to buy a 50% stake in the com-
the STA became part of the Transport Delhi pany in 2007. GNCTD accordingly has
Department. Because of a lack of ex- GNCTD has been deliberating since a control on the board, and manage-
pertise and domain knowledge, the long time on the creation of the Delhi ment control remains with the private
STA is not very effective in terms of Urban Mass Transit Authority (DUM- partner. The introduction of a private
long-term transport planning. Due to TA). Due to multiplicity of author- partner brought some flexibility. How-
its location in the transport depart- ity and in the absence of consensus ever, this also raised questions about
ment, the State Transport Author- among different departments, GNCTD its legitimacy in performing public
ity functions as an extension of the has not been able to pass necessary agency tasks, such as regulation.
department and often experiences legislation to create a unified author-
constraints of expert manpower in a ity. However, in view of increasing Current Role of DlMTS
domain that is becoming increasingly vehicle growth, the need to perform The key role of DIMTS is to provide
complex and challenging. long term transport demand planning advisory services to the Transport De-
and develop an integrated multi- partment and for DTCto perform plan-
City-wide Integrated Multi Modal modal transit system is continuously ning, provisioning and Operations
After the introduction of the metro felt. In order to ensure the integrated management functions in an efficient
system in 1999, there was a need to development of all transport related manner. DIMTS is also associated as
integrate the different modes of ex- projects, GNCTD took the alternative Expert and project management Con-
.~---------------------
28 PTI November/December 2009

5. Dossler
Figure 2: Transport Sector Structure
Minister of Transport (MoT)
Government of Delhi
Delhi Transport Corporation Commissioner of Transport
GNCTD GNCTD
State Transport Authority
Mass Rapid Transit System
GNCTD
sultant in developing infrastructure reform the bus sector in Delhi. Un- operation and maintenance. Though
and serves as a designated agency to der the scheme, 657 bus routes are the agency is somewhat removed
operate and manage the infrastructure classified in 17 distinct clusters, from the task of being a full-fledged
created by the Transport Department. which will be bid out to private Transport Authority, it is a good ex-
Strategic Planning and Regulation players for an exclusive right to ply ample for countries where it is diffi-
functions are performed by DIMTS to buses with state operators. cult to create UMTA-like structures in
assist the Transport Department in • Automatic Fare Collection System: one step due to legacy factors. DIMTS
multi modal transport planning. DIMTS DIMTS is entrusted with tasks to im- is a hybrid system that ensures the
also plays the role of Asset Manager plement AFCS in buses, both public integration and development of a cit-
and is allowed to undertake the opera- and private, as well as its integration ywide network on the one hand, and
tions and maintenance of the assets with other modes of mass transport on the other hand, has the autonomy
created by the Transport Department such as metro. and independence and consequent
and other state agencies. • Automated Vehicle location System: . freedom of action to operate with
Some of the projects executed by DIMTS DIMTS is also responsible for the flexibility to bring in professional ex-
on behalf of the Transport Department implementation of the AVL system pertise and managerial efficiency.
include: in public and private stage carriage Disclaimer: The views expressed are
• TrafficDemand ForecastStudy: DIMTS buses to improve the reliability solely those of the authors and do not
monitors the output and progress of of bus services. The pilot system necessarily indicate the views of the
the "Comprehensive Traffic Demand has already been implemented in various stakeholders.
Forecast" study of Delhi. The study 125 buses.
will help to identify the future major • Inter-State Bus Terminals (ISBTs):
corridors for the development of vari- DIMTS is also engaged with the devel-
ous public transportation modes. opment and redevelopment of ISBTs.
• Bus Rapid Transit System: DIMTS is ISBTs are proposed to be key transit
currently entrusted with the task of centres for commuters.
Operation and Management (O&M) • Smart Card based Driving License:
of the existing BRT Corridor (14.5km the Transport Department has in-
long). It is also preparing "Detail troduced the smart card based driv-
Project and Engineering Reports" ing license in Delhi. The system is
(DPR) for two more BRT corridors. implemented by DIMTS on behalf of
The company is now completely re- the Transport Department. The sys-
sponsible for BRT projects in Delhi tem is proposed to be extended to
from their conceptualization to permits.
their execution. The development
of the BRT system has not only im- Conclusion
proved the bus service in the city, The creation of DIMTS has helped
but has also built the first world- GNCTD and the Transport Department
class facility for Non-Motorised to implement various projects in a
Transport (NMT) in the country. speedy manner. The key role of DIMTS
• Corporatisation of Private Stage is to do both macro and micro level Contact:Manoi-aggr1@yahoo.com;
Carriage Buses: DIMTS has de- planning. The company is entrusted vijitaaggarwa/@yahoo.com;
signed a scheme of corporatization with all tasks in the value chain - jaspa/.singh@dimts.in
of private stage carriage buses to from concept conceptualization to copying editor@uitp.org
November/December 2009 PTI 29