This leaves the city short by at least 1,350 buses if it hopes to meet its public transport goals by 2026.
Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited (GMCBL) was launched in 2018 with the aim to provide seamless connectivity and reduce dependency on private vehicles. Six years later, the city bus fleet has stagnated with GMCBL failing to expand its services.
Moreover, over the past seven years, the city’s metro network has not even moved an inch. The bus service was supposed to fill this void, but the lack of additional buses has left many areas unserved, forcing commuters to rely on cabs and private vehicles, further congesting already traffic-clogged roads.
Experts said expansion of the bus fleet needs to be prioritised as part of a larger strategy to improve the city’s overall mobility and make commuting more sustainable for residents. “The city has grown exponentially over the last five years, but the public transport infrastructure hasn’t evolved along with it. Ideally, 50% of the target should have been achieved as per the population, but that hasn’t happened,” said Sewa Ram, professor (transport planning) at School of Planning and Architecture.
“There is a need to build the habit of using the public transit system. Until the metro system fully develops, buses should fill that space, and it will create captive demand for the metro, pushing further expansion,” Ram added.
For residents like Ritu Verma, who commutes daily from Sector 5 to HUDA City Centre metro station, the scarcity of buses means she has to shell out for expensive cab rides. “Gurugaman buses either remain unavailable or are crowded. I often end up taking autos or cabs, which adds to my monthly expenses,” she said.
In Sep 2019, GMCBL floated a request for expression of interest (RFEOI) for supplying electric buses, initially proposing to deploy 100 e-buses. Subsequently, it was decided that the Haryana transport department would procure 550 e-buses for 11 districts, of which Gurgaon and Faridabad would each receive 50. But these plans remained on paper. The state govt dropped the idea later and instead opted for the Centre’s PM e-Sewa scheme. Under this scheme, the city is expected to receive 100 mid-size e-buses with the Centre’s assistance.
Earlier this year, GMDA requested 100 additional e-buses. While GMCBL was expecting delivery of these e-buses by Oct this year, it is now unlikely before March 2025.
Even if everything goes as planned, the fleet size would still reach only 600 buses — not even half of what is required in the next two years.
When contacted, GMDA acknowledged that there is a gap in the city bus service that needs to be filled. “During the initial phase of city buses, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic impacted ridership, as we saw fewer passengers and many buses running empty. The current fleet doesn’t cover a larger area, but with the addition of new buses, we aim to improve that. Our goal is to increase the fleet size to 900 buses by 2027-28,” a senior official said.
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