Transport in Chandigarh/Public Transport

If you talk about traveling between places in Chandigarh, there are many options available. Since Chandigarh is the city with the largest number of per capita vehicles in India, most of the locals travel via their personal vehicles. Aside from that, there are many other options available if you talk about public transport in Chandigarh.

1. Govt Buses/ CTU Buses:

One of the cheapest modes of transport in the city are buses. All buses are managed by the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) unit of the Chandigarh administration.

CTU operates a mixed fleet of AC and non-AC buses. All buses have digital displays indicating their routes. The bus services are quite frequent covering each boarding points around the city at an interval of 20-30 mins. Currently, as per latest statistics the city has around 436 buses running on 47 local routes.

You can check bus timings from CTU official website.

First Bus service: 

The very first bus service starts from 5:25 AM & runs till 10:00 PM. 

Bus Stands:

There are two local bus terminals in Chandigarh city: Sector 17 and Sector 43.

2. Auto rickshaws and E-Rickshaws | Tuk-tuk:

Another popular and inexpensive mode of public transport in Chandigarh is the autorickshaw and e-rickshaw. These are available on almost every road in Chandigarh.

These rickshaws run on their specific routes in different sectors of Chandigarh and charge fares based on the number of seats ranges from Rs10-Rs50. But if anyone wishes to hire an auto for a long and special route, you can do so with higher rate charges between Rs100 – and Rs300.

Charges:

• Rs 10-50 for usual routes.
• Rs 100-300 for special routes.

3. Rickshaws:

For small distances between 1 km and 3 km, you can also hire pedal-cycle rickshaws to support the lower class.

These will be a little more expensive than e-rickshaws or auto-rickshaws but have their own charm. Especially on a sunny day in winter and in the evenings in summer.

Charges: Rs 50-100 based on distance.

4. Rental Cabs/Bikes:

Apart from public transportation in Chandigarh, there are also many cab services available. You can book your rides using their Android/IOS Apps. Some popular cab services available in Chandigarh are:

• Uber cabs: Using Uber you can hire cars, SUV, bike and auto based on your location and availability of vehicle. It is popular among cab services in Chandigarh.
• Ola cabs: Similar to Uber you can hire cars using Ola based location and availability of vehicle. But as compared to Uber, Ola have less number of vehicle availability in Chandigarh.
• inDrive cabs: Using inDriver you can hire cars with AC and Non-AC options. After Uber, this is second best option to hire a cab service in Chandigarh.
• Rapido Bike Taxi: Rapido is very popular among youngsters to commute around city. Using Rapido you can hire a bike at almost half prices as compared to car cabs. Helmets are mandatory for both driver and passenger in tricity.

5. Smart Bikes:

Recently, the Chandigarh Administration has installed Smart Bicycle stations around each and every sector of the city. Smart Bicycle are a great way of bypassing Chandigarh’s traffic jams and another cheap way to commute.

You just need to install the SmartBike Mobile App to use it. It requires a prepaid recharge in the app using multiple methods of payment. Then, based on your usage of bike in time, money will be deducted from your App account.

To ride bikes, licenses and helmets are not required.

Charges: Rs 10 plus the GST is charged for using a bicycle for half an hour.