Iconic U-Special bus service to return in a modern avatar: CM

The Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday announced the return of the iconic U-Special buses - the signature green-and-yellow fleet that once defined college life for generations of Delhi University (DU) students.

- Aheli Das [e-mail]

The revamped buses, which were discontinued in March 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown, will now return with air-conditioning, music systems and other upgrades to cater to the city’s student commuters, the CM said.

Gupta, a DU alumna herself, made the announcement at the inauguration of a new academic block at Social Centre School in Maurice Nagar. “We used to spend so much time on that bus — it was our own space, one that no one else could enter,” Gupta recalled. “Today, I am restarting the Youth Special service as a gift to students.”

Launched in 1971 by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), the U-Special — also known as the University Special or Youth Special — was more than just a mode of transport. It was a part of the DU experience for millions of students nearly half a century. It ferried students from far-flung areas of Delhi to the north and south campuses of DU, becoming a cultural icon in the process.