The Transport Department and the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) are working on a proposal to procure 1,200 more buses for the public transporter’s ailing fleet. Sources said that this will be the Delhi government’s ninth attempt to expand the DTC’s fleet in the last four years.
The government plans to add between 1,000 and 1,200 more buses to the 5600-odd buses currently being operated by the DTC and the Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System (DIMTS) on close to 800 routes in the Capital.
As per a survey by the Transport Department in 2015, Delhi needs at least 10,000 buses on a daily basis. Sources, however, claim that this figure has now gone up to around 16,000.
‘Problematic clause’
“Both the Transport Department and the DTC have been directed to work on a proposal to add more buses to the public transport system. We are in discussions with vendors over our estimated requirement and their capacity to deliver on that requirement,” a senior government official said.
“The intent is to add as many buses as possible as soon as possible. A subsequent tender for the procurement of the buses, once the proposal is finalised, will be the ninth tender of its kind when it is floated,” the official said, explaining that the previous eight tenders failed due to lack of response from eligible vendors.
According to a source, the clause related to post-procurement maintenance, which has been the most problematic technicality in relation to the overall cost of buses, is what ongoing deliberations continue to revolve around following which a new proposal for the purpose will be finalised.
“The post-procurement maintenance of buses is a significant issue which is why the Delhi government had initially intended to build its own maintenance facility for the fleet but abandoned it due to its cost and related issues,” the source said.
The decision to float a new proposal comes as the DTC prepares to phase out over 100 buses, which have clocked 7.5 lakh kilometres, by the end of 2018.
Former Transport Minister Satyendar Jain had submitted in a written reply to a question by Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta in the Delhi Assembly during the winter session in January that no new buses have been added to the DTC in the last two years.
Mr. Jain was, however, quick to point out that the government intended to operate more buses under the cluster scheme. Shortly afterwards, Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia, in the Capital’s budget for the current fiscal, announced that 736 buses would be inducted under the cluster scheme.
According to a source, no buses have been added to the low-floor fleet of the DTC since 2010 and only vehicles being operated under the cluster scheme have seen an increase in numbers.
Mr. Jain was recently replaced by his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) colleague and Najafgarh MLA Kailash Gahlot.
