DTC forms flying squads to check violation by buses

With its low-floor buses slowly earning the notoriety the Blueline buses once had, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has suddenly swung into action.

With its low-floor buses slowly earning the notoriety the Blueline buses once had, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has suddenly swung into action.

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In a damage-control exercise, the DTC has formed teams of its officials, comprising depot managers and supervisory staff, which will conduct random check on buses plying on routes and penalise the crew for any violation.

While six enforcement teams of four-five officers would start working from Wednesday, another five teams are likely to be added by end of this week. Each team would be given a special vehicle and they will also be assigned area of operation.

While old DTC buses continue to behave on roads, officials accept low-floor buses have been found involved in most violations.

“We have identified areas where we get most complaints from. The enforcement teams have been briefed about those areas and the nature of complaints that we have received in the past few months,” said a senior DTC official.

Officials said the enforcement teams will have the power to suspend bus captains (drivers) and conductors at the spot if the violations are found “serious”.

According to senior DTC officials, there is a sudden increase in complaints of rash-driving, speeding, buses running with open doors, not stopping at designated bus stops and crew misbehaving with passengers. Some bus drivers have also been found violating the assigned route to save on time.

Of 6,400 buses in DTC’s fleet, the number of low-floor buses — both AC and non-AC — is 3,775.

The traffic police too have issued more than 1,200 challans to DTC’s low-floor buses for various offences in the past three months in 2011.