DTC to allow advertisement space at 16 bus terminals

Hindustan Times

5 days ago

In a push to increase its 'non-fare revenue', the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will auction advertisement rights at 16 major bus terminals across the Capital. With high footfall and prominent road visibility, these sites will be monetised through wall wraps and digital screens.
According to a tender floated by DTC, the advertising rights will be granted for a five-year term, with the option for annual extensions of up to five more years. Bidders can apply for wall wrap advertisements, digital screens, or both, and the highest bidder will be awarded the contract for each terminal.
'Apart from revenue generation, this creates avenues for public messaging, civic campaigns, and brand visibility at some of the city's busiest locations,' said Delhi transport minister Pankaj Singh. 'We are trying to recover DTC from years of losses and turn it into a profit-making venture that can serve commuters better.'
Singh added that DTC is exploring several avenues to recover past losses and boost its non-fare revenue.
The monthly reserve license fee for digital screens ranges from ₹1.22 lakh to ₹2.24 lakh, while fees for wall wraps start at ₹28,834 at Ambedkar Stadium Terminal and go up to ₹3.9 lakh at Nehru Place Terminal. Screen sizes will range from 3 to 18 square metres and must receive structural certification before installation.
Bidders will be required to comply with the Outdoor Advertisement Policy (OAP) 2017 and share 50% of the revenue with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
This initiative is part of a broader strategy by DTC to diversify revenue sources, as reported by HT on April 10. Earlier this year, the corporation announced plans to generate ₹18 crore through advertisements on buses and bus shelters. Other proposals include monetising unipoles (single-pole advertising boards), bus body wraps, wall wraps, and digital screens. DTC is also considering leasing commercial space at depots, while the transport department plans to redevelop the Inter-State Bus Terminals (ISBTs) at Kashmere Gate, Sarai Kale Khan, and Anand Vihar.
A senior DTC official said the current focus is on fixed infrastructure, such as terminal boundary walls and enclosed spaces, which remain underutilised.
Among the terminals listed in the tender are some of Delhi's busiest, including Nehru Place, Hauz Khas, Punjabi Bagh, Shahdara, and Uttam Nagar. Others include Mehrauli, Mangla Puri, Sultanpuri, Rohini Sector 22, Mangolpuri, Jal Vihar, Bindapur, Karawal Nagar, Ambedkar Stadium, Narela A-9, and Narela Dhiran Jhor.
The last date for bid submission is June 20. A pre-bid meeting will be held on June 9, with clarifications due by June 12.
The initiative comes against the backdrop of a damning performance audit of DTC by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) tabled in the Delhi Assembly in March. The audit assessed DTC's performance from 2015-16 to 2021-22 and flagged cumulative losses of ₹60,741 crore by 2021-22, despite annual revenue grants from the Delhi government.
The audit noted that DTC lacked a long-term business or perspective plan and had performed worse than other state transport undertakings and the national average. It also found that DTC had done little to augment non-fare revenue in recent years.
'No major initiatives were taken towards raising non-operational revenue,' the report had said, citing the non-recovery of ₹225.31 crore in rent for depots transferred to cluster buses, delays in awarding advertisement contracts, and failure to commercially utilise available depot space.