Despite trial run, BRTS bus service fails to resume

The much-hyped pre-poll promise to revive the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) has failed to take off, with no substantial Metro bus operations resuming more than eight months after a symbolic relaunch. The service, suspended in July 2023 following the termination of the contract with its operating firm, remains largely inactive.

In December 2024, just ahead of the MC elections, then Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal flagged off six buses to ply between the Golden Gate and India Gate, marking the return of operations after a 14-month break. The trial run, offering free of cost travel to commuters, was projected as the first step towards a full-scale revival of the Rs 600 crore project. With a fleet of 90 buses, expectations were high that the service would soon return to normal.

However, even after eight months, the trial operation has not expanded beyond the single corridor. The main service remains suspended for over two years, leaving more than 40,000 regular commuters, primarily students and office-goers, without a reliable public transport. The shutdown resulted in nearly 1,000 employees losing their jobs.

“The BRTS project, launched in 2016 by the then SAD-BJP government, initially drew strong public support. But over the years, it suffered from political neglect, with the Congress government reducing operations and partial revival attempts made only during Navjot Singh Sidhu’s tenure as the Local Bodies Minister.

The AAP government seems to be little bothered about resuming the service. Public transport users feel let down by repeated political assurances that have failed to translate into action. With the bulk of the fleet lying idle and no concrete expansion plans in sight, the city’s ambitious Metro bus network remains stuck in the side-lane,” said local activist Kulwant Singh.