Delhi's DTC Bus Fleet Hits 13-Year Low as Daily Ridership Falls 44%

Delhi's state-run bus service has fewer vehicles on the road than at any point in the past 13 years, with daily passenger numbers still far short of the figures recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to data published in the Economic Survey of Delhi 2025-26. The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) currently operates a fleet of 3,213 buses, down from 5,223 in 2013-14, a reduction of 38 per cent over the period and a drop of nearly 16 per cent compared with the previous financial year alone, when the fleet stood at 3,819, Hindustan Times reported.

The figures point to a prolonged deterioration in bus availability across the capital. The fleet had shown signs of recovery, climbing to 4,359 buses in 2023-24, but has since fallen sharply over two consecutive years.

Passenger numbers tell a similarly bleak story. Daily average ridership on DTC services stood at 2.43 million in 2025-26, compared with 4.35 million in 2013-14, a fall of around 44 per cent. Commuter numbers collapsed during the pandemic to 1.22 million in 2020-21, partially recovered to 2.60 million in 2023-24, but have since slipped again.

The contraction in fleet size has not translated into greater efficiency either. Ridership per bus stood at 756 passengers a day in recent years, below the 832 recorded in 2013-14, though the figure had briefly peaked at 888 in 2019-20 before the pandemic disrupted services. It is worth noting that ridership per bus has improved over each of the past two financial years.

DTC is grappling with a series of overlapping problems. Much of its ageing CNG fleet is due for retirement this year, and frequent mechanical breakdowns have added to service unreliability. Progress on inducting new electric buses has been slow, as has the deployment of a largely inexperienced cohort of newly recruited drivers.

"The fleet size had reduced considerably due to the retirement of aging buses and many less operative routes had to be temporarily shut in the last year, but several new buses have been inducted in the last few months and we are gradually increasing the routes. The fleet will be back to a comfortable position by the end of the year," said a DTC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.