Delhi govt to buy 1,950 buses, first lot to arrive in August

After the cabinet meeting, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the new buses will start arriving from August 2022 and by September 2023, all buses, including the 1,500 electric and 450 CNG-run air-conditioned buses, will be inducted into the city fleet.

The Delhi cabinet on Wednesday approved the procurement of 1,950 new buses -- 1,500 electric and 450 CNG-run air-conditioned buses -- and also decided to issue fresh tenders for procuring another 4,800 buses, which, once they arrive, will take the bus fleet strength to over 11,000 by December 2024.

The Delhi transport department faces a major challenge of replacing 99% of its fleet of 3,760 buses by September 2025, when they will be taken off roads on account of their age.(Representative image)

After the cabinet meeting, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the new buses will start arriving from August 2022 and by September 2023, all buses, including the 1,500 electric and 450 CNG-run air-conditioned buses, will be inducted into the city fleet.

“Currently, there are more than 7,200 buses in Delhi, and this is the highest number of buses that the city has ever had. Delhi needs about 11,000 to 12,000 buses and we will achieve that target by December 2024. The Delhi government will soon issue tenders to buy 4,880 more buses. By December 2024, 11,910 buses will be running on Delhi roads,” Kejriwal told a digital press conference on Wednesday evening.

Of Delhi’s public fleet of more than 7,200 buses, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) operates 3,900 buses while 3,300 are part of the privately run cluster bus service. A total of 150 electric buses will be added to the DTC fleet by next month. (HT Illustration)

The chief minister said his government will develop the transport sector to international standards by integrating all modes of transport. “After making significant advancements in public health-care and education, the Delhi government is now placing a high priority on transportation in order to give citizens of this city modern and pleasant transportation options. Keeping in mind the comfort of the people and Delhi’s weather, we are concentrating on buying air-conditioned electric buses. We need to combine and modernise our various modes of transportation, which include the Metro and taxis,” Kejriwal said.

The Delhi transport department faces a major challenge of replacing 99% of its fleet of 3,760 buses by September 2025, when they will be taken off roads on account of their age. “According to our calculations, Delhi’s roads will be served by 11,910 buses by the end of 2024,” Kejriwal said.

A transport official said the buses will be differently abled friendly, GPS enabled, and have digital and contactless ticketing. The government has introduced CCTV cameras, panic buttons and hooters on Delhi buses and all of them are connected to a two-way centralised command and control centre. The government is also going to build two multilevel bus depots -- with a capacity to accommodate over 300 buses each -- by 2023, said the official, preferring to remain anonymous.

The official said of the 1,950 buses, 113 will arrive between August 2022 and January 2023 while 337 will arrive between February 2023 and March 2023. The 450 CNG buses are in lieu of the retiring cluster buses which will go off roads by October 10, 2022. Depots allotted for these buses are in Kanjhawala, Sunehri Pulla and Banda Bahadur Marg, the official said.

Of Delhi’s public fleet of more than 7,200 buses, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) operates 3,900 buses while 3,300 are part of the privately run cluster bus service. A total of 150 electric buses will be added to the DTC fleet by next month.