The national capital lacks the hallmarks of an efficient public transportation system — accessibility, affordability, reliability and last mile connectivity. Experts opine that the city administration’s failure to provide a robust public transport system has been the chief reason for the reluctance of the masses to switch from private vehicles to the state-run transport system. Due to this, the city has witnessed an alarming rise in the number of vehicles and 1,200 private vehicles are registered daily on an average. Experts in the transport sector emphasise that poor planning and allowing the different modes of transport to compete among themselves rather than synergise them are some of the reasons that plague the sector. Efforts have not been made to overhaul the bus system of the city, which ferries about 65 per cent of the Delhi’s commuters. Even after so many years, the city administration has not been able to strike a balance between cost and safety, which are symptomatic of a city’s poor and inefficient transport system. Experts asserted that on numerous stretches instead of complimenting each other the bus and Metro network are competing with each other, whereas many other areas such as outer Delhi remain untouched by the Metro network. Multiplicity of agencies and planning in isolation have resulted in development of transport models which have reaped no benefits to the commuters, who are left at the mercy of the poor planning. Replication of foreign models such as the Bus Rapid Transit Corridor without trials and public participation have resulted in systems that have offered no incentives to the commuters to leave their private vehicles at home. Experts believe that the national capital needs an umbrella body, which can work as a coherent unit with representatives from agencies such as state government, civic bodies, urban planning agencies and traffic enforcement authority to conceptualise and execute holistic transport related projects, which can benefit the commuter directly. The body should identify the demand and work out the supply accordingly. “The city’s Metro network is under massive expansion and the government should plan in advance about the end-mile connectivity from the Metro stations and should start working how the bus network could supplement the metro network,” a senior scientist with Central Road Research Institute said. Experts also blame the quick policy changes with the successive governments, prolonged decision-making, absence of comprehensive studies and borrowed ideas for the city’s failed transport policy. “A recent example of this is the new government’s decision to lift the ban on battery operated rickshaws, which were pronounced illegal earlier as they not only flout the design norms but also use the battery of much more power which the Motor Vehicle Act allows them to. This will burden the already congested Delhi roads with rampant growth of e-rickshaws and without dedicated routes, they will pose serious risks to those on the road,” an official said. Experts added that the plans to introduce systems such as monorail, trams and more Bus Rapid Transit systems can only benefit commuters if they are planned in synergy