Delhi govt to procure 1,950 buses soon

New Delhi: The Delhi government will procure 1,950 buses and issue fresh tenders for another 4,800 buses, taking the fleet to over 11,000 on the capital's roads by December 2024, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday.
He said that a slew of other decisions were also taken during the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
"The Delhi government will now make public transport more comfortable and world-class. We will focus on integrating and modernising the transport sector and making it at par with international standards. We need to combine and modernise our various modes of transportation, including the Metro and taxis," Kejriwal said in a digital media briefing.
The new buses will be seen from August-September 2022 and by September 2023, all the buses, including 1,500 electric and 450 CNG AC buses will be inducted into the fleet.
Kejriwal said that earlier the biggest problem was the lack of buses as they had not been procured for several years. Currently, there are more than 7,200 buses in the public fleet, which is the highest ever number.
The government will soon issue tenders to buy 4,880 more buses and by December 2024, 11,910 buses will be running on the roads.
"A large-scale procurement of the buses has begun in the last few years and that shows that we have repaired this system. With the comfort of people and Delhi's weather in mind, we are concentrating on buying air-conditioned electric buses. I'm pleased to share that we approved the purchase of 1,950 buses during today's Cabinet meeting," the CM said.
Transport minister Kailash Gahlot wrote on Twitter:
"Huge congrats to Delhi! Delhi Cabinet has given its nod for 1950 Low Floor AC state-of-the-art buses. Delhi's bus fleet is growing more than ever & in less than 2 years we'll have the highest electric bus fleet ever."
The CM also said the Delhi government has decided to extend the free ration scheme till September 30.
He said his government will hire experts to roll out its urban farming initiative that was announced in the Budget.