New Delhi, Sept. 24 -- The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) retired its last red AC low-floor bus on Tuesday, which was also the last bus to be wholly owned and operated by the state transport department. All DTC buses are now under contract and managed by concessionaires.

While the DTC bid an emotional goodbye to the vehicle that has dominated Delhi's public transport memory for over a decade, this is not the first 'end-of-an-era' moment for the transport department, which has undergone multiple major shifts over the years.

The Capital's public bus service has undergone several transformations since the first government-run service began in 1948. The Delhi Transport Service was later brought under the DTC, which was established in 197...