To spruce up city, Govt gives the boot to Blueline buses

Commuters in several areas of the Capital had a harrowing time on Sunday, as more than 1,600 Blueline buses were shunted out by Delhi Government. The move was made to improve the image of the City ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

Commuters in several areas of the Capital had a harrowing time on Sunday, as more than 1,600 Blueline buses were shunted out by Delhi Government. The move was made to improve the image of the City ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

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The buses were kept off roads from areas around the Games venues, and probable localities that might be frequented by athletes, officials and visitors of the sporting event.

“There were very few DTC buses; and in the absence of Blueline buses, unoccupied autos were hard to come by. I waited for almost 40 minutes at the bus stop and finally got an auto to go to Parliament Street,” said Sarmistha Das-gupta, a resident of Bhogal area.

Transport department officials claimed they deployed additional low-floor buses in areas where Blueline buses have been removed.

“I had to wait for almost 45 minutes for a bus to go to Connaught Place. It was really a harrowing experience,a said Sandeep Sodhi, a resident of Laxmi Nagar.

Transport department officials said some Blueline buses were allowed to ply on alternative routes while movement of some others were restricted to designated points.

At present, nearly 2,400 Blueline buses operate in over 600 routes in the city. The government had earlier said the Blueline buses will be phased out before the Games.