With 100 more low-floor AC buses, DTC fleet at all-time high, says CM

New Delhi: The public transport bus fleet size has increased to an all-time high of 6,900 in the city, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday as he flagged off 100 low floor and air-conditioned buses at the Rajghat depot here.

The city transport department is also making efforts to have 300 e-buses on the road by April, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said on the occasion.

"With the induction of these 100 buses now, the public transport bus fleet size has grown to 6,900 which is the highest so far. Earlier, there were around 6,000 buses at the time of Commonwealth Games (in 2010)," Kejriwal said. The government is procuring many more buses including e-buses, he said.

"It takes 2-3 years for new buses to come due to tender process and other formalities, it cannot happen overnight. When our government was formed, there was much shortage of buses as no new buses were purchased for many years. The buses started rolling out after we activated the procurement process," he said.

The 100 new buses will be operated mostly on rural routes from Ghumanhera bus depot, he said, adding, "We are committed to boost public transport ensuring people have buses for commute on a regular frequency."

Meanwhile, the transport minister said in a tweet, "Delhi in 2022 will see more and more state-of-the-art buses, including 100% electric ones being added to its fleet!"

A prototype e-bus will be flagged off by the chief minister on Monday. Fifty more e-buses will arrive by the first or second week of February and all efforts will be made to have 300 e-buses by April, Gahlot said.

Delhi's buses stand out as an example of a safe, accessible and convenient transport system in the country, he asserted.

The process of expanding para-transit systems to ensure safe last-mile connectivity to every city dweller at any time of the day is also underway, he said.

The new buses come equipped with Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system, foldable ramp for persons with disability, panic buttons, and CCTV cameras.

They also include stepless boarding and alighting of passengers, live video streaming in case of emergencies, two-way communication with the control room of the transport department, and GPS for live tracking. The buses are being deployed on nine additional routes in Delhi.

Some of these routes are Chhawla School to New Delhi Railway Station Gate 2, Najafgarh Terminal to IGI Airport T2, Kamruddin Nagar Terminal to Sarai Kale Khan, Tikri Border to Old Delhi Railway Station (Fatehpuri), and Saraswati Vihar Water Tank to Nehru Place Terminal.