new delhi: The Delhi government on Monday announced the resumption of inter-state bus services from November 3 by allowing the three ISBTs here to operate at 50 per cent of their pre-COVID capacity.
The move comes amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the city with over 5,000 new cases being reported daily for the last few days.
Delhi Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said all precautions against the spread of COVID-19 have been put in place for resumption the inter-state bus services.
In an order, the Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (DTIDC) that operates the inter-state bus terminals (ISBTs) said the inter-state bus services will reopen at the Sarai Kale Khan, Kashmiri Gate and Anand Vihar ISBTs from November 3.
The SOP stated, "It is advised that the buses entering the ISBTs should not be older than 2015 model in the wake of the alarming situation of pollution in Delhi."
The DTIDC may gradually reduce the age of the buses and ultimately allow the entry of only CNG, electric and BS-VI standard buses at the three ISBTs, it said, advising bus operators to prepare accordingly.
The SOP further stipulated that initially the number of buses from each state will be limited to 50 per cent of pre-COVID levels till November 15.
Also, testing camps for rapid antigen tests and RT-PCR tests have also been set up at the ISBT's to deal with asymptomatic passengers identified through thermal screening.
Meanwhile, the DTC's contactless ticketing app trial has been extended till Nov 31. mpost