NEW DELHI: The Delhi government will soon notify revised guidelines for buses at the Inter State Bus Terminal at Kashmiri Gate, an official said on Sunday.
Recently, L-G VK Saxena inspected the Maharana Pratap ISBT and announced the terminal overhaul. According to the new scheme, private and government interstate buses will pay the same fee for parking and using the bus bays. As of now, private buses are charged more, which leads to a situation where they park the bus unauthorisedly and pick passengers up on roads outside the ISBT complex, resulting in traffic snarls and revenue loss.
A system of differential parking charges based on time is set to be notified to reduce bus turnaround time. This will reduce passengers’ waiting time and ensure buses circulate at a faster pace.Under the new norms, buses will face penalties for overstaying. For instance, a bus parked for over 30 minutes to up to 35 minutes will be charged a penalty of Re 200 plus GST. If the time exceeds 35 minutes and goes up to 40 minutes, the fine will be Rs 250 plus GST.
The official said the penalty for exceeding 40 minutes will be Rs 300 plus GST, while the charges for exceeding 45 minutes will be Rs 350 plus GST per five minutes on an incremental basis.
Additionally, buses without Fastags will not be permitted inside the terminal and a facility will be provided outside the terminal complex where a bus can get the Fastag before entering.
The new norms will not only ensure efficiency in the functioning and operation of ISBTs but also enable the facilities to function to their optimum capacity of 3,000 buses per day as against 1,700. Delhi has three ISBTs at Kashmere Gate, Anand Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan.