DTC Board approves funds for 1,000 low-floor AC CNG buses

New Delhi: In a move that will boost public transport in the national Capital, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) Board in its meeting on Monday, approved the funds for the procurement of 1,000 low-floor air-conditioned CNG buses.

Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, who chaired the meeting, said, "Today, we have approved funds for the procurement of 1,000 low-floor CNG buses as well as for comprehensive annual maintenance of these buses for their entire lifetime. This will help in reducing downtime of buses and increase overall user experience."

The new buses, part of the DTC fleet, will be Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) compliant.

These new low-floor CNG buses would be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities like a real-time passenger information system, CCTVs, panic buttons, GPS and other facilities besides being differently-abled friendly.

The steps being taken will help reduce the down-time of buses and increase overall use.

The Board also approved funds for the annual maintenance of buses up to 7,50,000 km per bus covering 12 years' comprehensive maintenance insurance.

In another important decision concerning the welfare of the DTC employees, the Board approved an increase in the ceiling of gratuity from Rs 10 lakh presently to Rs 20 lakh. This move will benefit all DTC employees and enhance their retirement benefits.

No new buses had been procured by the DTC in nearly past one decade, but there was an induction of 1,250 buses in November 2020 and now the procurement of 1,000 more buses will lead to the total number of buses rising in the national Capital.

Delhi has one of India's largest bus transport systems. Buses are the most popular means of transport catering to about 60% of Delhi's total demand and the procurement of 1,000 AC low-floor CNG buses can be seen as a positive step towards making public transport available to the public. The buses will be easily accessible and remain well-connected to almost all parts of the NCR.