Less than half of Capital’s population has access to public transport: Report

Only 45.83 per cent of the population living in the national capital has access to public transport, despite the statistics showing a surge in the ridership of Metro and buses, as per Delhi State Framework Indicator Report on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) released by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics.

The report states that in the financial year 2023-24, there was a 5.03 per cent increase in the number of people having access to public transport over the period 2022-2023 when only 40.80 per cent had access to mass transit system.

It also revealed that the ridership of Metro as well as Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and Cluster buses saw a surge. In 2022-23, the average ridership of Delhi Metro stood at 4.62 million which increased to 5.78 million in 2023-24.

Similarly, the buses (DTC and Cluster both) recorded an average ridership of 4.14 million in 2022-23, which increased to 4.24 million in 2023-24, the report mentioned.

As per the statistics in the report, the fleet of buses (both DTC and Cluster) stood at 7,485 in 2023-24. This remains less than the fleet of 10,000 buses as per a 1998 Supreme Court directive for a public bus to ease congestion and pollution in the city. This shortage, paired with lack of accessible and efficient public transit options, led residents to rely on private vehicles.

The report also mentioned that vehicle density per 1,000 population dropped sharply from 530 in 2015-16 to 370 in 2022-23, before marginally rising to 373 in 2023-24. This decline coincided with a fall in the number of road accidents, which decreased from 8,085 in 2015 to 4,720 in 2021.

However, accident figures climbed again to 5,560 in 2022. Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), cited in the report, showed that 9,880 people were killed or injured in road accidents in 2015. This number reduced to 5,228 in 2021 but increased to 6,174 in 2022, indicating a reversal of the declining trend.

The report underlines that by 2030, the government aims to ensure safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport for all. The focus is on improving road safety, expanding public transport and paying special attention to vulnerable groups including women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities.