NEW DELHI: A week after 100 new buses were launched in the city, the Delhi government is receiving more buses- both standard and low-floor - to augment public transport in the national capital. Of the new buses, 100 standard-floor buses arrived this week.
These new cluster buses are likely to be inaugurated on December 6 by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. "Over 100 more non-AC buses have arrived from both, Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors manufacturing units this week," a source told this newspaper.
Officials said that about 100 low-floor buses were also going to arrive at the Indraprastha depot this month. Sources in the government said that they were in constant communication with the manufacturers due to a delay earlier, and now the buses would be arriving on a regular basis.
Of the 1,000 buses which are expected to reach the city by January 2020, a total of 329 buses have been inaugurated. The government had shared a tentative scheduled of arrival of these buses, according to which 465 buses were supposed to arrive by November.
The new fleet of buses includes hydraulic lifts for differently abled passengers, GPS for tracking the bus, panic buttons, anti-vandalism seats, and surveillance cameras that will help ensure women’s safety.
Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, along with senior Transport Department officials, had visited the two manufacturing units in September. At present, around 5,500 state-run buses ply on Delhi’s roads. Not a single bus has been procured by the Delhi Transport Corporation in the last nine years.
Meanwhile, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, in a report on PSUs in Delhi, has noted the slow progress of upgradation projects of Inter-State Bus Terminals (ISBTs) and development of new terminals. "Even after the lapse of more than 20 years of the Supreme Court directions to establish ISBTs at North and South West entry points of Delhi, ISBTs at Dwarka and Narela could not be established," the CAG said.