Heat wilts DTC bus service, passengers left in the lurch

Soaring temperatures in the national capital have mounted the hassles for the passengers who take Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses to commute in this scorching heat every day. 

As many as 350 to 400 buses have experienced breakdowns resulting in great discomfort for the passengers. These buses also include low floor ones which is also leading to major traffic snarls, resulting in shortage of buses plying on the road. The frequent breakdown of low-floor buses has raised a question on their maintenance. While DTC spends more than Rs 64 lakhs a day for the maintenance of these buses, a senior transport department official said: ‘The maintenance charge for low floor buses was Rs 2.50 per kilometre which has been increased to Rs 6-7 per km. About 92 percent of DTC buses run on Delhi roads per day.’ 

According to officials, huge amounts are being spent for the maintenance of these buses but the results are not satisfactory. The companies which supervise the maintenance also allege tampering of the operating system and speedometers.

Currently, DTC has a fleet of 5,200 buses which includes 1,275 low floor buses of Tata and 2,506 buses of Ashok Leyland. As many as 1,157 buses are run by DIMTS and the rest are old models of DTC buses. Sources say about 80 percent of the air-conditioned low floor buses have trouble in cooling.

The maintenance cost for AC buses is Rs 4.10 per km for the first 75,000 km or a year. After completion of either, the company charges Rs 5 for 1.5 lakh km or two years and after that, the maintenance charges reach Rs 7.10 per km for 2.1 lakh km or three years. For the non-AC buses, the charges of maintenance are Rs 3.20, Rs 4.60 and Rs 6.50 respectively.

The Annual Maintenance Cost is effective for three years in total and was negotiated by the DTC after the low floor buses started breaking down, the official added.