Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday directed the Transport Department to form a committee to oversee the formulation of a policy aimed at the creation of an ‘app-based AC bus service’ to fill the gap between the required and existing fleet of state-run buses.
The proposed scheme revolves around creating a centralised pool of private buses, across different categories in terms of size and passenger-carrying capacity, for hire through a government-run application.
Total requirement
Conservative government estimates, as per an internal survey undertaken by the Transport Department after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) formed the Delhi government in February 2015, peg the total requirement of public buses in the Capital at 10,000. Sources, however, claim that the said figure has now gone up to around 15,000 to 16,000.
These would be required to operate on stage carriage permits instead of contract carriage permits and rates similar to the Cluster Scheme of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), according to sources privy to its current status. In a report on July 8, The Hindu had reported that the said policy was in the draft stage.
According to sources, the Chief Minister’s directions to this effect came during a review of the Capital’s transport sector where issues such as progress on the framing of policies regarding the operation of cab aggregation services in Delhi and facets of the proposed City Taxi Scheme, 2017 were also reviewed by Mr. Kejriwal.
“The proposed policy is somewhat similar to the app-based Premium Bus Service which was notified by the Delhi government but later struck down by the then Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung,” said the source.
“A committee, as per the directions of the Chief Minister, will be formed for the purpose of formulating the new policy. The department will meet on Monday to firm up modalities in this regard,” the source added.
The AAP government had, on May 23, 2016, notified the Premium Bus Service a month after the then Transport Minister, Gopal Rai, announced that the government intended to play the “role of an enabler” for private players willing to provide air conditioned, Wi-Fi-enabled buses with CCTVs — through a mobile app — to citizens in a “concerted effort” to improve public transport.
As per the policy, bus aggregators had to have individual apps like Ola and Uber, and were to be allowed to decide their fares and determine the routes and schedule of trips, which were to be uploaded on their apps. Operators would also have to freeze bookings and display a list of passengers five minutes before departure.
Only AC buses were to ply under the scheme and a bus aggregator was required to have to run at least 50 vehicles to get a licence from the Transport Department. Come June, however, Mr. Jung had red-flagged the notification on the grounds that he had not given the Transport Department his nod to notify the scheme.
This was followed by a complaint alleging graft, by BJP MLA and the Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta on the basis of which the Anti-Corruption Branch registered a case under relevant Sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The issue had even found resonance in the Assembly, where a special session was then under way. “In light of certain issues which were based on charges of favouritism for certain private players providing similar services in Delhi, it has been decided to open it up to all private transport operators willing to be a part of the scheme,” said another source.
