🇮🇳 New Delhi · Getting around
Transport and the shape of the city in New Delhi
One of the world's larger metro systems, which is genuinely excellent, and a road network that is not.
The thing people get wrongThe Delhi Metro is fast, cheap, air-conditioned and extensive — and it reaches Gurgaon and Noida. If your home and office are both near it, your commute is solved; if either is not, you are in traffic, and Delhi traffic is a different proposition.
The Metro
The network covers Delhi and extends into Gurgaon on the Yellow Line and Rapid Metro, and into Noida on the Blue and Aqua lines. Trains are frequent and air-conditioned, fares are distance-based and low, and a smart card removes the queues. Women-only carriages operate at the front of trains. The Airport Express runs from New Delhi station to the terminals in around twenty minutes.
- Smart card for the Metro; fares are distance-based and inexpensive.
- Yellow Line and Rapid Metro for Gurgaon; Blue and Aqua for Noida.
- Women-only carriage at the front of every train.
- Airport Express is the fastest route to and from the terminals.
Cars, autos and ride-hailing
Uber and Ola cover cars and auto-rickshaws with transparent fares, which removes the negotiation that a street auto still involves. Many residents with families employ a driver, which is a normal and comparatively affordable arrangement. Note that vehicle age rules apply in the NCR and have affected older diesel and petrol vehicles.
- Uber and Ola for cars and autos; fares shown up front.
- Street autos still negotiate; agree the fare before getting in.
- A driver is a common family arrangement, priced monthly.
- Vehicle-age restrictions apply in the NCR; check before buying anything used.
Crossing between Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida
These are separate jurisdictions and the journeys between them are the ones that go wrong. The Delhi–Gurgaon expressway and the DND and Noida links carry heavy peak traffic, and a twenty-kilometre crossing at the wrong hour can take well over an hour. Living and working on the same side of that line is worth a great deal.
- Peak crossings between the three are the worst journeys in the region.
- The Metro is often faster than driving for these trips.
- Test your actual commute at your actual hour before signing a lease.
Walking, cycling and the seasons
Delhi is not a comfortable walking city for much of the year: heat from April to June, monsoon humidity through the summer, and poor air in winter. Pavements are inconsistent outside the planned colonies. Cycling is growing but road conditions make it a considered choice rather than a default.
- April to June heat, monsoon from roughly July, poor air October to February.
- The planned colonies of South Delhi have the best pavements.
- Short, air-conditioned commutes are worth paying for here.
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