Jaitley praised Delhi’s bus aggregator scheme: Sisodia

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley praised the Delhi government’s proposed bus aggregator service and many other states too have shown their interest to adopt the scheme.

“I met Arun Jaitley yesterday (Tuesday) during Finance Ministers’ meeting in Kolkata. He praised Delhi’s bus aggregator scheme in strong words,” Sisodia tweeted.

“Many state Finance Ministers have shown keen interest to have a similar scheme. They have asked me details of the scheme,” he wrote in another tweet. According to notification, bus owners with a minimum of 50 buses can approach the government. The notification says the seat bookings and payment on these buses will be made through an online application and the list of passengers has to be displayed online.

The final list will be frozen five minutes before the bus departs. This is a measure to prevent drivers from taking more passengers. A panic button for women’s safety is also included. Registration for the proposed premium bus aggregator service was supposed to start in the national Capital from June 1. 

However, it did not start as it did get approval from Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung. Even Delhi’s Anti-Corruption Branch initiated a probe following allegations from the BJP MLA Vijender Gupta.

In his complaint, Gupta alleged that the Bill did not get approval from the L-G’s office and it only favoured a particular aggregator.

The premium bus service was announced by former Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai during the second phase of the odd-even scheme in the city between April 15 and April 30, to encourage private car owners to switch to public transport. The Delhi government had also announced a policy for app-based premium bus service which was to be made operational from mid-June.