37 killed in 33 bus accidents until September 15 this year: Delhi Traffic dept

In the corresponding period last year, public buses were involved in at least 30 accidents.

Thirty-seven people were killed in 33 accidents involving public buses in Delhi till September 15 this year, according to Delhi Traffic Police data. Of these, 11 accidents involved Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses and 22 concerned cluster buses.

The DTC buses come directly under the Delhi government but the cluster buses are operated by private entities for the state transport department. (HT Photo)

The DTC buses come directly under the Delhi government but the cluster buses are operated by private entities for the state transport department.

In the corresponding period last year, public buses were involved in at least 30 accidents. Data shows that though the number of people who died in accidents involving DTC buses decreased this year to 12 from 15 last year, those who died due to alleged negligence by cluster bus drivers increased to 25 from 15 last year.

Of the total 6,793 public buses in Delhi, 3,760 are DTC buses and 3,033 are operated by private firms under the cluster scheme. “The number of operational days for buses in 2020 and 2021 has been fewer compared to the pre-pandemic days due to the lockdowns and restrictions. Yet, fatal accidents caused by these buses, especially the cluster ones, have not showed any decline. High speed, violation of driving rules, and overtaking were some of the prime reasons in many of the accidents involving public buses,” a senior Delhi traffic police officer said, asking not to be named.

Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) Limited, which manages the city’s cluster buses, said the organisation has put in all necessary checks in place, adding that while considering the number of accidents one should also take into account the fact that cluster buses run more kilometres than their DTC counterparts. Records showed that the cluster buses run 197 lakh (19.7 million) kilometres per month, and the DTC buses cover 194 lakh (19.4 million) kilometres per month.

Referring to an accident on Monday in which a cluster bus ran over a woman in Najafgarh, a senior DIMTS official said, “In this particular case, we have sacked the bus driver from service even though on further investigation, we found it to be a case of contributory negligence. The two-wheeler on which the victim was travelling was overtaking the bus and it had two pillion riders. None of the riders was wearing a helmet. Still, we have removed the driver from service.”

However, after Monday’s incident, the corporation said it is getting compliance certificates of all its drivers re-checked. “These certificates are issued by the Delhi Police, we are verifying each one of them. In any case, we remove our bus driver from service, if they get involved in any accident. Secondly, we are ensuring that no driver is allowed to have an early departure, which is important to curb speeding and overtaking,” a second DIMTS official said.

A DTC official said all buses, be it theirs or the cluster ones, are monitored and tracked through GPS devices. “We also monitor if they are speeding,” the DTC official said.

On September 22, joint commissioner of police (traffic operations) Meenu Choudhary wrote to the principal secretary-cum-commissioner of Delhi transport department, asking them to sensitise drivers of DTC and cluster buses to follow road rules and stop only in bus bays or bus boxes drawn on the roads.

“We regularly send our road safety teams to bus depots across the city to educate drivers of cluster and DTC buses regarding traffic rules and lane discipline. We also send reports to the DTC whenever the public bus drivers violate traffic norms. We expect the department to take necessary steps, and prevent accidents,” said additional commissioner of police (traffic) Ajit Kumar Singla.