Getting around
Transport & Metro, Apps & Digital Life. 4 min read.
01Transport & Metro
Getting around Delhi
Delhi has India's largest city rail network: 10 colour-coded metro lines plus the Airport Express, 393 km in all.
The metro is clean, air-conditioned and signed in English. It is the fastest way to get around at peak hours. Most senior professionals still keep a car with a driver for evening events, school runs and Old Delhi visits, where parking is impossible.
What it costs
RIDE
Ola/Uber Saket-CP
₹200 to 400
one way
METRO
Monthly Metro Spend
₹500 to 1,500
smart-card recharge
Key Metro Lines (2026)
Yellow Line (Samaypur Badli Millennium City Centre)
The commuter backbone. DU Kashmere Gate New Delhi Station Rajiv Chowk (CP) Central Secretariat AIIMS Hauz Khas Saket MG Road / Sikanderpur. Single most useful line for South Delhi to CP to Gurugram.
Airport Express / Orange Line
Fastest airport link. T3 New Delhi Station in 22 minutes for ₹60. Bypasses every NH-48 traffic bottleneck.
Blue Line (Dwarka Noida / Vaishali)
East-west across the city. Karol Bagh Rajiv Chowk Pragati Maidan Akshardham Mayur Vihar Noida, critical if your office is in Noida.
Magenta Line (Janakpuri West Botanical Garden)
Connects Hauz Khas to Noida directly. The single most useful south-Delhi to Noida link.
Pink, Violet, Red, Green & more
Delhi Metro's 393 km network, 10 lines plus the Airport Express, covers virtually every part of the NCT. Use the official DMRC app for routes, fares and real-time arrivals.
Day-to-Day Transport
Delhi Metro
Fastest at peak hours. Smart card or DMRC app QR. ₹10 to 60 per trip. AC, English signage, women-only coach. Operates ~6am-11pm.
Chauffeured Car
Many senior professionals keep one. Monthly arrangements ₹25,000 to 40,000 for an English-speaking driver.
Uber / Ola
Both reliable. Premium tiers (Uber XL, Ola Prime SUV) for business meetings. Surge during rain, smog days, Diwali week.
Auto / Rapido
Use auto-rickshaws through ride-hailing apps such as Uber, Rapido, etc. Refuse non-metered rides. Rapido Bike for solo commutes during peak traffic, significantly faster than cars.
E-Rickshaw · Last Mile
The cheapest way to cover the gap between a metro station and your colony, ₹10 to 30 a hop. Ubiquitous outside every Delhi metro exit; pay in cash and confirm the fare before boarding.
DTC & Cluster Bus
Delhi's air-conditioned electric bus fleet is large and improving. Tap your metro smart card or the DTC One Delhi app. Women travel free on DTC and cluster buses across the NCT.
At peak hours (8.30-11.30am, 5.30-9.30pm), Delhi traffic adds 30 to 90 minutes to any road journey. NH-48 (airport corridor), Outer Ring Road (AIIMS bottleneck) and Mathura Road are the worst-affected. The Metro is faster than any car during peak, and notably, the air inside the metro is much cleaner than any car commute on smog days. IKAN can support with your vehicle RTO paperwork.
02Apps & Digital Life
Apps to install
Delhi's digital services are excellent, and most apps work reliably across the city. Download these before you arrive and your first week will be much easier. In winter, the air-quality apps are essential.
Transport
Uber / OlaPrimary cab-hailing. Both work well in Delhi. Premium tiers (Uber XL, Ola Prime SUV) for business meetings. Surge pricing during smog days, Diwali week, and rain.
Delhi Metro DMRC AppRoutes, real-time arrivals, smart-card recharge, QR-ticket purchase. Essential for all metro lines including the Airport Express.
Rapido / IRCTC RailRapido Bike for fast solo hops in traffic. IRCTC for Gatimaan / Vande Bharat express trains to Agra and Jaipur.
Google MapsEssential for navigation, live traffic and accurate ETAs across Delhi-NCR, and the most reliable way to share your location with drivers and find metro exits and markets.
Food, Grocery & Delivery
Zomato / SwiggyBoth deliver within 30 minutes across most of Delhi. Zomato Gold for frequent restaurant orders. Swiggy Instamart for instant grocery top-ups.
Blinkit / Zepto / BigBasketBlinkit (10-minute delivery, founded in Gurugram) and Zepto for instant essentials. BigBasket for planned weekly grocery. Modern Bazaar / Le Marché for premium imports.
Air Quality & Health
IQAir / AQI India / SAFARCRITICAL for Delhi. Real-time AQI by neighbourhood. Check daily during Oct-Feb before any outdoor activity, school drop-off, or weekend planning.
Practo / 1mg / Urban CompanyPracto for GP and specialist appointments. 1mg for online pharmacy. Urban Company for home services (cleaning, pest control, salon, plumber).
Utilities & Payments
BSES Rajdhani / Tata Power-DDLDelhi's two main electricity providers, BSES for south Delhi, Tata Power-DDL for north/central. Set up auto-pay immediately on arrival.
ACT Fibernet / Airtel / JioFiberHome broadband, ACT Fibernet, Airtel Xstream and JioFiber all serve South Delhi with 100-300 Mbps plans. Book online; installation is usually within a few days.
IGL Piped Gas / LPG CylinderCooking gas is either piped natural gas (IGL, Indraprastha Gas, billed monthly) or LPG cylinders (Indane / HP / Bharat Gas, booked by app or phone). Confirm which your home has and transfer or open a connection on move-in.
GPay / PhonePe / PaytmIndia's UPI rail, the world's best peer-to-peer payment system. Every street vendor, every shop. Essential for daily life.
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