A Shortage of Metro feeder buses in the city has seen services being shifted from routes with lower footfall to busier ones, leaving passengers stranded at some stations.

Commuters at the Vikaspuri and Janakpuri West Metro stations have been a harrowed lot ever since the feeder bus service between the two stations was suspended two months ago.

Officials in the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) maintain that the route (ML 27) was not generating adequate revenue. Residents, on the other hand, say that while the stations might not see very high footfall, rush-hour traffic during office and school hours heavily depended on the feeder buses. “After the feeder buses were pulled out of this route, school children and office goers have been put to a lot of inconvenience. With no alternative mode of transport available, the cycle-rickshaw drivers fleece commuters, who have no choice but to pay up,” Krishna Kumar, a resident of Janakpuri told Newsline.

Five buses used to ply on the route, all of which have been put on busier routes. Sources in Rajasthan Bombay Transport, the contractor for DMRC that operates the feeder bus services in the city, said that while the shuttle service was popular during school and office hours, revenue generated through this route was low. “The profit margin was very low on this route. At the same time there are busier routes which are overcrowded and need more buses. The vehicles have been shifted to these routes to ease the pressure,” an official said.

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