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Delhi

GPS devices in most DTC buses tampered with

There are around 5,481 Delhi Transport Corporation vehicles, including cluster buses. Over 3,700 of these have been fitted with global positioning system (GPS) devices. However, the devices in more than half of these are broken, stolen or tampered with.

This development comes as a setback to DTC's aim to make operations of its buses more effective, in terms of punctuality and to keep a tab on their whereabouts in real time.

The issue has become a point of contention between the Delhi Integrated Multiple-model Transit System (DIMTS) and the Transport department.

DTC had installed GPS devices in 3,700 buses, including air conditioned and non-air conditioned low-floor buses, with an aim to improve services ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

An official of DTC said that there are now around 1,800 GPS devices left in DTC buses, many of which are not working properly, "due to which our plan of making bus operation effective in terms of punctuality has seemingly failed."

Some of the devices in DTC buses have been found tampered with.

Sources said that the bus drivers could be behind all this, because if a GPS device functions properly, the movement of the bus can easily be tracked by control room set up at Raj Ghat Depot.

"We are very surprised that GPS devices are missing at a large scale, which is spoiling DTC's aim of keeping tab on bus movement in the national Capital," the official added.

The Nirbhaya incident in 2012 had forced the then Delhi government and police to take several measures to ensure women safety in the city.

"The pilot project of CCTVs in 200 buses had been undertaken in 2014, but it is very unfortunate that since then, the number remained the same.

"However, in the 2017-18 Budget, the government has allocated Rs 100 crore for installation of CCTV cameras in all DTC buses," a senior official said requesting anonymity.

"The maintenance charge for low floor buses was Rs 2.50 per kilometre which has been increased to Rs 6-7 per km. About 92 per cent of DTC buses run on the roads of Delhi per day," said a senior DTC official.
Currently, the DTC has a fleet of 5,481 buses, out of which 2,506 are low-floor buses, 1,275 are air-conditioned. About 1,600 buses are run by DIMTS and the remaining are blue line buses.
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