Old DTC buses to be gradually phased out in three months

In an attempt to stop everyday break down of buses in the Capital, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) is likely to reject all the 10-12-year old standard low floor buses in the city within three months.

There are about 3,950 DTC buses in Delhi. A senior DTC official said that a number of these buses are being reduced every month.

Two months ago, the total number of standard floor buses was 239, which went down to 163.

DTC officials said that all standard floor buses would be removed soon because the condition of these buses are very poor.

Earlier, the Delhi government planned to bring new 1,000 DTC buses and the tender process would also start soon.

There will be a high level meeting on August where DTC will pass the proposal of new purchase.

According to the officials, the cabinet has assured DTC that they would try purchasing new buses within a month or two.

Most of the old standard floor buses operate in the outer Delhi and the countryside. Buses at the depots like Yamuna Vihar, Harinagar, and other deports are mostly 10-12 year old buses. Similarly the buses at Narela route and Kanjhawala are also very old. The officials agreed that these buses break down a lot and create problem to the commuters.

Meanwhile, transport minister Kailash Gehlot have said that the government will work in priority to overcome the crunch of buses.

The officials said that Delhi countryside is also like to get more new buses. The government may build up new depots at the outer Delhi areas based on the availability of the buses.

DTC will mostly focusing on non AC buses but with time it will also buy AC buses.

Earlier, the officials said it will stop buying international standard buses from the companies like Tata and Ashok Layland. Instead they will buy Indian buses because the cost of maintenance is much lower.

However, the DTC officials accepted that everyday, nearly ten buses break down in the monsoon which lead to huge traffic jams in the city.

The condition of these buses are so bad that repairing is not possible. According to the officials, within 2017 they will reject each and every 10-12 year old buses from the city, which will make the life of commuters easier.