The trial on two other routes -- from Pradhan Enclave Pushta to the Majlis Park metro station and from the Akshardham metro station to Mayur Vihar Phase III Paper Market -- started last month.
The buses were flagged off by minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, Malviya Nagar MLA Somnath Bharti and RK Puram MLA Parmila Tokas in their respective Assembly constituencies.
Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said through Mohalla buses, all the important places at the local level are being connected with public transport, so that first and last-mile connectivity can be ensured.
"We have also included major educational institutions like Motilal Nehru College, Jesus and Mary College, Maitreyi College, Sri Venkateswara College, LSR College, Central School and Vocational College as stops in the trial of the Mohalla buses on the two new routes, so that the transport needs of the residents living nearby as well as youngsters and students can be met," he said.
Bharadwaj said for a long time, there was a demand from the people of posh colonies, such as Greater Kailash Part-1 and Malviya Nagar, for a small-bus service, like the Mohalla Bus Service, for them.
"This bus service will start from the Kailash Colony metro station and go to Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Greater Kailash-1 N Block and M Block markets, Greater Kailash-1 E Block, then to the Greater Kailash-2 metro station and from there, to Chirag Delhi, the College of Vocational Studies, Sheikh Sarai, Press Enclave and then to the Geetanjali Bus Depot in Malviya Nagar," he said.
The minister noted that the route covers several metro stations, the Saket Mall, three big markets as well as big hospitals, such as PSRI and Max.
"If you provide last-mile connectivity from the metro station to home through this Mohalla bus service, then you can also address the pollution in Delhi, you can also address congestion. These are electric buses, there is zero pollution. This is a very good step," Bharadwaj said.
These nine-metre-long Mohalla buses have 23 passenger seats and a standing capacity of 13 passengers. With 45 minutes of charging, they travel more than 200 km.
Mohalla buses are of green colour for easy identification. As many as 25% seats (six) in these buses are pink and those are reserved exclusively for women.
The fare in the Mohalla buses will be the same as that of the Delhi government's air-conditioned buses. It will be INR 10, 15, 20 and 25. Women can avail free travel in these buses through the pink pass.
The Mohalla Bus Scheme aims at providing feeder bus services to Delhiites around their homes through nine-metre-long electric buses. The Arvind Kejriwal government aims to ply 2,180 Mohalla buses by 2025. These buses will run on congested roads with limited width in areas where 12-metre buses face challenge in manoeuvring.
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