60% trips in Delhi under 4 km, No buses to serve first mile: ICCT Study

A new study by International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has held that six in ten daily trips in Delhi are under 4 km, yet long-haul buses continue to dominate the city’s network. The study highlights how aligning transit services with short-distance mobility needs can unlock the true potential of public transport.

The study “Neighborhood public transit services: Situational analysis of bus-based public transport supply in Delhi”, proposes a neighborhood-level approach for expanding bus services, especially through the deployment of smaller electric buses designed to serve short, intrazonal routes.

By leveraging GIS, ward-level data, and transport route information from DTC and Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS), the study revealed that approximately 31% of urban neighborhoods in Delhi fall outside a 500-meter radius of a public bus stop, a threshold recognized as the standard for walkable access under India’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) policy.

The research found that while Delhi has made important strides in expanding its metro network and introducing new buses under govt’s initiatives, access to low-cost, reliable neighborhood mobility remains limited for many.

Nearly one-third of Delhi’s urban area lacks convenient access to formal bus services. For thousands of residents, daily mobility often involves long walks or costly last-mile connections, conditions that discourage public transport use and contribute to congestion and pollution.

The most underserved municipal wards were found to have zero buildings within 500 meters of a bus stop. The study notes that while the national capital has extensive and vast public transport connectivity, it lacks accessibility in dense urban settlements where a traditional 12m city bus cannot operate with ease.

By aligning route design with localised demand patterns and physical constraints such as road widths, the study strongly advocates short-distance, high-frequency neighbourhood buses tailored to Delhi’s complex urban fabric.

The report recommends deploying smaller 9-meter neighborhood buses on roads 7 meters or wider, a move recently initiated under the Delhi Government’s new Delhi Electric Vehicle Interconnector (DEVI) buses. These buses, launched by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, are intended to serve as last-mile and intra-zonal connectors across areas that cannot accommodate traditional 12-meter buses.

ICCT India has been part of developing the initial international consultation, identifying assessment parameter, route validation, and stakeholder consultations for the neighbourhood buses with the Delhi Authorities.

“First- and last-mile connectivity and the need to serve low-density or hard-to-reach areas are critical challenges that hinder the scaling up of bus services in cities. To address these issues, cities around the world have introduced neighborhood-level bus services, such as Community Buses in Japan, Neighborhood Circulators in the United States, and Quartiersbusse in Germany. In India, DEVI Bus is a similar innovation, with the Delhi Government piloting such a service in the city. If successful, this scheme could not only benefit Delhi but also have a strong ripple effect across other cities in the country,” said, Amit Bhatt, India Managing Director, ICCT.

“Our GIS-based research highlights critical gaps and opportunities in neighbourhood-level access to public bus transit across Delhi NCT. By mapping transit gaps with key physical and demand indicators, this approach enabled targeted service supply for equitable transit access that shall improve intrazonal and last-mile connectivity through neighbourhood bus services,” stated Bhaumik Gowande, Associate Researcher, ICCT

“To achieve its clean air and accessibility goals, Delhi’s policy frameworks must actively incentivize and support the integration of electric bus networks into neighborhood-level planning. Effectively providing equitable and Sustainable neighborhood-level connectivity to Transit,” mentioned Revathy Pradeep, Researcher, ICCT

About ICCT

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) is an independent research organization providing first-rate, unbiased research and technical and scientific analysis to environmental regulators. Our mission is to improve the environmental performance and energy efficiency of road, marine, and air transportation, in order to benefit public health and mitigate climate change. Founded in 2001, we are a nonprofit organization working under grants and contracts from private foundations and public institutions.