Govt flags off 100 more buses
New Delhi: The Delhi government on Tuesday flagged off 100 new buses. These buses will have CCTV cameras, GPS tracker, panic buttons and facilities for convenience of persons with disabilities, said transport minister Kailash Gahlot.
With this, the government has added 429 buses in Delhi’s existing fleet this year, taking the total of the fleet strength to over 5,700 currently against the sanctioned strength of 11,000. Of the total buses in the current fleet, around 1900 are operated by concessionaires and the rest by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).
The Delhi government aims to procure 4,000 buses by mid-2020, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had said earlier this year. Last week, he also announced a scheme under which the government will ensure that all buses in Delhi have features such as CCTV cameras, GPS tracker, panic buttons and facilities to assist persons with disabilities.
The semi-low floor buses flagged of on Tuesday will be deployed on seven routes – 772 (Uttam Nagar – IGI airport’s terminal 2), 801 (Inderlok Metro Station – IGI airport’s terminal 3), 827 (Tilak Nagarv – Daurala Border), 131 (Old Delhi Railway Station – Lampur Border), 135 (Narela – Delhi Secretariat), 171 (Holambi Kalan – Shivani Stadium) and 107 (Katewra Village – Old Delhi Railway Station).
Gahlot said on Tuesday, “We are committed to strengthening Delhi’s overall transport infrastructure.”
In the inauguration event at central Delhi’s Rajghat bus depot, Gahlot further said that the government has opened tenders for 300 electric buses. This batch of 300 electric buses is in addition to 1,000 electric buses which are already included in the government’s larger plan of procuring 4,000 electric buses, the transport department said.
Meanwhile, the government has awarded contract for 650 low-floor buses, which is part of the larger scheme related to induction of 4,000 buses.