India, March 27 -- The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC)'s fleet size has dropped to 3,213 buses, the lowest in at least 13 years, while daily ridership remains significantly below pre-pandemic figures, according to data from the Economic Survey of Delhi 2025-26.

The data shows a sustained decline in bus availability and commuter usage across the Capital, marking a sharp drop from DTC's fleet of 5,223 buses in 2013-14. For context, the current fleet size is more than 2,000 buses fewer than in 2013-14, representing a 38% reduction over the period.

The decline comes despite periodic procurement efforts, with the fleet having shown some recovery to 4,359 buses in 2023-24 before falling again to 3,819 in 2024-25 and further to 3,213 in the ...