The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) on Thursday said that passengers will get the facility of rental two-wheelers and rental bicycles along with feeder buses, cabs, and autorickshaws under last-mile connectivity at all RRTS stations from Delhi to Meerut.

To improve and streamline the last mile connectivity for the convenience of passengers on the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor, the NCRTC is constantly in touch with feeder operators, cabs, autorickshaws, and bike taxi service providers to expand these services. In this direction, the NCRTC has again sought expressions of interest on a large scale for feeder services.

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This expression has been sought for all 25 stations from Delhi to Meerut. “With the start of operations of Namo Bharat trains, the NCRTC is also making efforts to provide the facility of rental two-wheelers and rental bicycles to passengers at the stations so that people get last mile connectivity,” a spokesperson of the NCRTC said.

At present, Namo Bharat trains are operating on the 34-km section from Sahibabad to Modi Nagar North, covering 8 stations. Electric buses from Ghaziabad City Transport Services Limited have been made available to all these operational stations for last-mile connectivity. These electric buses provide last-mile connectivity to the passengers of 7 different routes at Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, DPS Rajnagar Guldhar, Duhai, Murad Nagar, Modi Nagar South, and Modi Nagar North stations.

In addition, the facility of Rapido taxi is also available for the convenience of passengers. Passengers using Rapido bike taxis are being given a 10 per cent discount while travelling on Namo Bharat trains. Currently, this discount is offered only at Ghaziabad and Sahibabad RRTS stations, but soon this facility will be extended to other stations as well.

To further increase the options of last-mile connectivity at operational RRTS stations and to provide last-mile connectivity at all stations to be operated in the future, the NCRTC has now invited open expressions of interest from service providers for various categories for the entire corridor.

The expressions of interest have been invited for point-to-point connection from RRTS stations, electric/CNG powered shuttle-bus service, prepaid electric/CNG powered taxi services, app-based electric/CNG powered cab service, prepaid/metered electric/CNG powered autorickshaw service, electric/CNG powered sharing service, sharing e-rickshaw service, two-wheeler bike taxi service for point-to-point mobility from stations, two-wheeler rental service, rental cycle service from stations, and electric/CNG rental car service from stations.

Additionally, expressions of interest have also been invited to set up at least one battery swapping station for feeder e-rickshaw service operation at all stations in the corridor. Battery swapping stations will not only promote electric vehicles but will also provide last-mile connectivity to the people.

The NCRTC has been working from the very beginning to provide last-mile connectivity to a maximum number of people so that those living farther from the stations can also reach RRTS and Meerut Metro stations without any hassle in the future.

“There will also be a provision for rental two-wheelers and rental bicycles around the stations to help passengers complete short-term tasks. Passengers will be able to avail of this facility by paying on an hourly basis, and after the work is over, they can park their vehicle or bicycle back at the vehicle/cycle point built in the stations and travel further by Namo Bharat trains. These efforts of NCRTC will create a better and friendly transport system, which will not only reduce pollution but will also reduce road accidents,” the spokesperson added.