Transport min flags off 100 more low-floor CNG buses

New Delhi: Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Monday flagged off 100 low-floor air-conditioned CNG buses and a prototype electric bus from the Indraprastha depot here, with the Delhi government declaring that the city's public transport fleet had now increased to 7,001 buses.

Gahlot said these new buses are environmentally friendly and will help reduce pollution in the city. Introduced under the cluster scheme of the Delhi government, these buses are also equipped with modern facilities like panic buttons, CCTV, real-time tracking and GPS, and are disabled-friendly.

Gahlot said over 30 lakh people travelled in DTC and cluster buses every day in February 2022, nearly 14 per cent of Delhi's population. "We will continue adding to this number with over 2,000 electric buses joining our fleet in the coming year," he said. The government said these buses will run from Ghumanhera Depot to various transit centres in Delhi including New Delhi Railway Station, Anand Vihar ISBT and Nizamuddin Railway Station.

"I dedicate all these new buses to the citizens of Delhi and urge them to reduce the usage of private vehicles and shift to public transport for a pollution and congestion-free city," Gahlot was quoted as saying in a statement issued later in the evening.

In January, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had flagged off 100 low-floor air-conditioned CNG buses and one prototype electric bus from the Rajghat depot. Gahlot had then said the government is making efforts to bring 300 electric buses by April.

According to the statement, with the induction of these 100 low-floor AC CNG buses and one electric bus, the total number of buses in Delhi has increased to an "all-time high" of 7,001. Delhi had crossed the 6,000 buses mark during the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the statement added.

According to the statement, the Delhi Transport Corporation board had last month approved the procurement of 1,500 e-buses through the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles Scheme.

The Delhi government has also planned to induct 1000 e-buses in the DTC fleet and 240 e-buses in the cluster fleet, it mentioned. The transport department is also in the process of upgrading its depots to accommodate these new buses.

The DTC electric bus will run on route E44 — a circular route from IP Depot via Pragati Maidan-India Gate-Ashram-South Extension- Aurobindo Marg-Janpath-Connaught Place-ITO.