On the lines of app-based cab operators, the Delhi government may soon announce app-based bus service to strengthen public transport in the national capital.
Contract carriage buses plying across the city will come under the ambit of the app-based service which may be announced next week.
A senior government official said that the private contract carriage buses will be given “special permit” to ferry passengers through a mobile application.
“The routes of these buses will also be prepared by the transport department. Office goers at large will be beneficiaries,” the official said.
He further said that with this app service, passengers will be able to locate buses going towards their destinations and board the vehicles with normal fares to be fixed by the government.
The city’s private bus operators have welcomed the move and said that they are ready to buy new private buses for this service if the government wants us to do the same.
“Like app-based taxis, these buses are plying illegally. But they provide comfort to the commuters so they prefer travelling on these buses. Instead of banning them, we are planning to legalise them. Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC), think-tank of the Delhi government, has asked Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd (DIMTS) to finalise the policy within a week,” said a Delhi government official.
Currently, these buses provide to and fro connectivity from Metro stations, mostly in Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad. Some of these also ferry workers from Gurgaon to Dwarka and vice-versa.
Sources said that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wants to review the policy and has suggested some changes in the draft. “There are two things the government is planning — to introduce high-end buses and allow aggregators to run buses. Transport minister needs to take a final call on whether they will allow only existing aggregators or any individual can run buses,” the official added.