CM flags off 100 new buses; 3K more soon
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday flagged off the third lot of 100 standard floor buses, part of the first 1,000 buses, delivery of which begun last month. The buses are equipped with GPS trackers, panic buttons, CCTV cameras, and hydraulic lifts for the convenience of the differently-abled. Along with the Delhi CM, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, and Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot were also present.
The Chief Minister said, "I want to congratulate the people of Delhi that 100 new buses have been flagged off on the roads of the national Capital. 3,000 buses will hit the roads in the next 6-7 months, out of which 1,000 will be electric buses which is the biggest electric bus deployment ever." Experts say that due to poor maintenance the buses wear out but Delhi government has looked into that as well. Gahlot said, "Along with the procurement, the budget for maintenance of these cluster buses will be included in the package too."
A bus driver by profession for 20 years, Anil Kumar, has witnessed the gradual improvement in the bus services offered by the Delhi government. "I started my journey as a bus driver with Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and past ten years I have been working in the cluster bus services. The new cluster buses are very well equipped, there is GPS and phone charging sockets, and there are CCTV cameras in the front and back of the bus. The break, clutch and gear are smoother too."
Hydraulic lifts for the differently-abled to ease boarding and deboarding is there along with 14 Panic buttons with hooters. Kumar also said, "Earlier the conductor and driver were the same people now there are guards and separate conductors and I can concentrate on driving only. This reduces the possibility of accidents as well. Earlier, I
had to work for 16 hours in a day and now my shift is of
eight hours."
The 100 buses which have 37 seats will ply from Narela to Mori Gate Terminal, Palla to Old Delhi Railway Station, Nilwal to Karampura Terminal, Uttam Nagar Terminal to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Narela to Old Delhi Railway Station, Adarsh Nagar to Central Terminal, and Nangloi to Narela. An official statement by the Delhi government said, "The contract of 650 Low Floor buses has also been awarded by the Department of Transport and these buses will start coming from January, 2020. The tender for remaining 350 buses will be floated soon."
