Starting in August, people in Delhi will be able to book seats on air-conditioned buses operated by private companies. This is part of a new plan by the city government to reduce the use of private cars and cut down on pollution.

The plan, called the Delhi Motor Vehicles Licensing of Aggregator (Premium Buses) Scheme, was announced last year. It allows companies like Uber and Aaveg to run these buses in the Delhi-NCR area. They are currently deciding on the routes for the buses.

The buses will be fully air-conditioned, with comfortable reclining seats, WiFi, GPS, and CCTV cameras. To qualify as a "premium bus," the bus must be able to seat at least nine passengers and should not be more than three years old if it runs on CNG. Starting in 2025, all new buses must be electric.

The company Aaveg has already chosen some routes in west and central Delhi. They plan to switch to an all-electric bus fleet by the end of December. Passengers can book seats using the Aaveg app.

Uber will also offer a similar service, allowing customers to pre-book seats through the 'Uber Shuttle' option on the Uber app. Each Uber shuttle can carry between 19 and 50 passengers.

The companies will need to provide route details, driver information, and bus details to the transport department. They can set their own routes and fares, but the fares must be at least as high as those of the air-conditioned buses run by the Delhi Transport Corporation.