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‘There won’t be any dearth of buses in Delhi’: Arvind Kejriwal
In the “guarantee card” released in the run-up to the recent assembly elections, Arvind Kejriwal had promised to increase the strength of the bus fleet to 11,000 and to boost the length of the Delhi Metro network to over 500 kilometres.
Two days after being sworn in as Delhi’s Chief Minister for the third time, Arvind Kejriwal assured Delhi’s citizens that there would soon be no dearth of buses in the national capital.
“It did take time. But finally we were able to overcome all obstacles. So, buses have started arriving. I can assure all Delhiites, soon there won’t be any dearth of buses,” he tweeted Tuesday.
At present, there are around 6,000 buses plying in the city, including 806 buses that were added under the cluster scheme.
In the “guarantee card” released in the run-up to the recent assembly elections, he had promised to increase the strength of the bus fleet to 11,000 and to boost the length of the Delhi Metro network to over 500 kilometres.
Kejriwal had also guaranteed that free bus travel for women which began last October will continue for the next five years. The scheme will have to be tabled in the Cabinet and then will have to be approved in the Board of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). Officials said this procedure should not take more than three months.
Students will also get to travel free in buses for the next five years under the guarantee card.
The free bus rides for women was criticized by the opposition with the BJP saying it was yet another “freebie” given by AAP government apart from the free water and electricity schemes. But many women who availed of the bus scheme said that it has changed their lives for the better.
The BJP’s manifesto had promised to run more special buses for women, while the Congress had planned to train women to be eligible to become bus and auto drivers, apart from penalising private firms who do not provide night cabs to women employees.
