The new buses will operate from the newly-constructed Bus Depot at Bawana Sector 5
The new buses will operate from the newly-constructed Bus Depot at Bawana Sector 5
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday flagged off 50 CNG buses and 66 new enforcement vehicles, which will be operated by the Transport Department, from the Rajghat Cluster Depot here.
While the new buses, inducted under the cluster scheme, have brought the Capital’s public transportation fleet to its highest-ever total of 7,320, the induction of motorcycles for the enforcement of traffic laws by the Transport Department is also a first, the government stated.
“These buses will be stationed at the Bawana Depot and will run on six new routes to increase rural connectivity. All the CNG buses are equipped with many modern facilities including CCTV cameras, panic buttons and GPS systems for the safety of citizens,” Mr. Kejriwal said adding that motorcycles had been included for the first time for bus lane enforcement and will be used to clear narrow roads.
“Delhi now boasts the highest ever total of 7,320 buses on its roads. By 2025, more than 10,000 buses with 80% electric buses will be in the service of the people of Delhi,” he added.
The new buses will operate from the newly-constructed Bus Depot at Bawana Sector 5; cluster buses currently operate on 360 routes and the new buses will operate on six additional routes, the government said.
Delhi now has 7320 buses (CNG and Electric combined) under its city bus transportation fleet which includes 4,010 buses operated under the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and 3,310 buses being operated under DIMTS (Delhi Integrated Multimodal Transit Systems). The DTC also operates 250 low-floor Electric buses.
“By the end of 2025, Delhi would have a net 10,380 buses in its public transport fleet. Out of this, 8,180 buses would be electric buses. This means that over 80% of buses in Delhi would run on electricity. We will have a modern transport system by then,” the Chief Minister said.
The 66 new vehicles added to the Enforcement Wing for Bus Lane Enforcement and road safety, the government said, include 30 new four wheelers and 36 new two wheelers bringing the total number of Enforcement Vehicles to 120.
Reacting to the flagging off, the Delhi BJP accused Mr. Kejriwal of hiding the real picture of the DTC alleging that of the 7,320 buses on the city’s transportation fleet, 4,000 buses cluster buses were on private contract.
“The Delhi Government has not been able to add even a single bus to the Delhi Transport Corporation fleet in the last 8 years due to corruption in the purchase of DTC buses,” Rohini BJP MLA Vijender Gupta alleged.
“During this period, out of 5500 DTC buses, about 2400 buses have been taken off the roads being old and overaged. The remaining 3100 of the DTC’s own buses which are over 12 years old and condemned because of having completed 7.50 lakh km are being forced to run,” he added.
