A Joint Venture of The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi & The Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd.
Corporatization of Private Stage Carriage Buses
Introduction
Buses are the lifeline of Delhi city, transporting thousands of people daily from one corner to the other. Over the years however, with the increasing income levels, the demand and usage of private motor vehicles has increased thus leading to problems of congestion and pollution. In 2008, there were 5.5 million vehicles in Delhi, the largest number in any city in the world. Nearly 1,000 more are added on a daily basis. This has resulted in a fall in the share of buses from 60% in 2001 to 41.5% in 2008 and a rise in the use of private motor vehicles from 27.5% in 2001 to 35.4% in 2008.
Though the buses, with a larger share, continue to be the primary mode of transport for the majority of the people, the demand for it will continue to fall as rising income levels allow more and more people to opt for private motorized vehicles.
To arrest this decline and to encourage people to shift to buses, it is important to provide safe, reliable, comfortable and well integrated bus system.
Current System of Buses in Delhi
Bus services in Delhi are currently provided by private stage carriage operators (PSCs), Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which provides connecting services to the metro rail system. The fig 1 below shows the relative strengths of each fleet in the capital.
Fig 1: Public Bus Fleets in Delhi
Issues with the Current System
However, a fully privatized system has also failed to deliver a comprehensive, integrated network in Delhi. A combination of high DTC costs and PSCs that only run on profitable routes, mean that almost half of Delhi's 657 registered bus routes are not operated at all, depriving citizens of access and forcing them onto more expensive transport modes.
In addition, to make more profits, drivers rush to pick up the maximum number of passengers in the least possible time and avoid off-peak hours. Often the passengers end up waiting long time in the bus since operators refuse to move out of a bus stop till they have enough passengers. This also results in over-crowding, which causes much discomfort to the passengers.
In view of all the above problems, the Govt. of NCT of Delhi decided to revamp the bus system to provide a reliable, safe and comfortable travel to the citizens. It launched a scheme to corporatize the Private Stage Carriage operation of buses in Delhi and appointed DIMTS as Integrated Mechanism for the Private stage carriage buses corporatization scheme.
Corporatization of Private Stage Carriage Buses
The key features of the new scheme are:
- A safe, high quality bus network, passenger-guided and responsive to changes in demand due to economic growth and demographic shifts
- A universal bus network providing service availability on all scheduled routes to people from all sections of the community
- A cost-effective network that minimizes user tariffs and recourses to public subsidy
- An integrated network that is simple to use, has high standards of reliability, comfort and customer service
DIMTS Role
DIMTS role in the Corporatization of Private Stage Carriage Buses is:
- Project Conceptualization
- Feasibility Study
- Clustering of Bus Routes
- Economic Analysis & Business Modeling
- Bid Process Management
- Contract Management
- Operations Management
The Contracting Process
After conducting the Cost-Benefit analysis, DIMTS embarked on a tender process. Pre-qualified parties were considered who had sufficient financial strength and operational experience in a transparent Request for Qualification (RFQ) stage conducted by DIMTS. DIMTS' tender evaluation included an examination of the bidder's ability to meet bus quality, driver competency, and performance standard criteria.
Performance Management System
In order to monitor the performance of the operators, DIMTS set about developing a performance incentive regime to reward or penalize the operator on the basis of the quality of service delivered. Following public consultation and research parameters chosen for operator evaluation by DIMTS included:
- Service Reliability and Frequency
- Bus Crowding
- Journey Time
- Affordability
- Accessibility to Bus Stops
- Bus Accessibility
- Staff Attitude and Behavior
- Personal Safety and Security during the Journey
- Vehicle Cleanliness
- Vehicle Repair
- Access to Travel Information
Efficient monitoring of the performance of the buses required the help of technology. In the new system there is a strong reliance upon modern location technology and intelligent transport systems to monitor operator performance and calibrate rewards and penalties.
Thus an automatic fare collection via a smartcard based system has been proposed to help reduce revenue 'leakage' through a cash-based fare box controlled by the operator.
DIMTS' plan is to equip each vehicle with an automatic vehicle location system (AVL). The OCC will monitor the movement of each vehicle set against its adherence to the Unified Time Table (UTT) set by DIMTS. An algorithmic software system will calculate penalties and rewards for reliability and frequency. In case of foreseeable defaults the operator will notify DIMTS of the inability to deliver a service, allowing a suitable replacement to fill the gap.
Systematic, Manual Checking
DIMTS is also aware of the need to rely on manual checking for verification of driver performance etc. For this reason, infraction reports and vehicle checking will be undertaken manually, at least for the time being. In addition to this, DIMTS will also introduce a biometric identification system to register and certify drivers, as well as, conductors.
With in-built Performance Incentives
Operator adherence to high vehicle maintenance standards is likely to have a strong incentive through the provision of financial rewards for running a reliable system. Under-maintained buses are likely to break down more often, incurring the operator a financial penalty.
Additional features like the Passenger Information System (PIS) will help in reducing the waiting anxiety of the passengers.
Current Status
Cluster 1
Route baskets of 32 routes mainly covering the Southern part of Delhi are covered under the Cluster 1. On behalf of Transport Department, GNCTD, DIMTS has completed codal formalities for short-listing the Concessionaire for award of contract for operation of stage carriage buses.
Conclusion
To make this scheme successful, DIMTS is designing routes, timetables and organizing area-based clusters to promote competition but also building a framework that encourages operators to integrate their transport in passengers' interests. The new bus network will meet the traditional goals of affordability but also raise enough revenue to invest in a better quality system than the private stage carriage operations that preceded it. In this regard a high level of importance is being accorded to a quality management regime that can measure performance delivery, reward the best and deliver improvements from the rest.