What's so special about the U-Special?

Ask a student from a South Campus or an Off-Campus college what the U-Special is, and you'll get an assortment of interesting responses. One said he thought it was probably the youth section of some newspaper; the other thought it was a segment on some radio show.

'U-Special' stands for University Special, the DTC buses, the life-line of DU, which basically ferry students from South Delhi to North Campus. The first bus starts at 7:30 in the morning and the last picks up students at 3:30 p.m. The service was introduced in 1960 and since 1965, is available at the nominal cost of Rs. 12.50 per month. One can get a U-Special bus card made for Rs. 75 for 5 months. The buses are the breath and blood of South Delhi students for this part of Delhi still remains disconnected from the metro. There are some buses that move from East to South for e.g. there's a bus which takes students from Faridabad and drops them off at Gargi.

Delhi Metro might have made things convenient for students of East and West Delhi but it has simultaneously removed them from, not just another routine but, a complete cultural aspect of college life. As Sakshi Bhardwaj, 3rd year student of economics (honours) from Hindu College, tells us, "I became very thick with a few students from my own college thanks to the U-Special. I wasn't even aware of the fact that they are from my college earlier. Besides that, I have a lot of friends from D-School, only because they travel by the same route I take." Deepshika from Hansraj who puts up at Chirag Delhi, is all praise for U-Specials, particularly the Mangloi one which has the reputation of "woh nahiin aayegi toh koi aur bhi nahiin aayegi". As far as the social circuiting is concerned, she comments "Everyone is extremely amiable and conversation flows with ease; it hardly matters if the students are your seniors. For that matter, as co-travellers I've discovered friends in a lot of students pursuing their education at the PG level." Students with their own vehicles abandon their bikes and cars and prefer the U-Special for both the convenience and companionship.

Udit Khurana, 2nd year, maths (honours) student at north campus, amongst others who put up in and around IIT, isn't too happy. Ask him about the congenial atmosphere and he says he hasn't been given the fair opportunity to experience it. "They never come on time and if I wish to make it to the 8:40 a.m. class on time, I'd rather wish on a star to be president." He feels he has to first reach to the metro to judge its effectiveness and just by introducing the metro the DTC transport facility doesn't improve.

If not for the U-Special some students might even need to change two buses to get to the nearest metro station from where they take a rickshaw, which costs more than double of what a U-Special charges, besides the extra 45 minutes you have to invest in being hassled. No doubt, DTC is comparatively comfortable to travel in than the Blue-line buses but even if one bus doesn't come on time the other bus is brimming over with people. The C.R. Park Special and Vasant Kunj special has been regularly irregular. The afternoon routes of DTC's U-Special service are discontinued for the three months around exam-time and there is no provision for students who participate in ECAs and need to stay-back beyond 3:30, the time when the last special leaves from the Patel Chest Stand.