After only 328 Blueline buses left to ply in the capital, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) is still to roll on sufficient number of buses to cater to the needs of the commuters in the outer Delhi and rural areas of the capital.
Delayed induction of new buses, which have been planned by the DTC, is further adding to the woes of the commuters in the outer Delhi and rural areas.
A week after most of the Blueline buses were phased out in the capital, the DTC is yet to fill the vacuum, which has left the commuters in the lurch. “It is being noted that the Outer Delhi and the rural areas need more DTC buses. These were the areas where a large number of Blueline buses operated. There is a kind of vacuum, which the DTC is working on ways to fill the vacuum,” stated a senior transport department official of the Delhi government.
However, the commuters hardly have any problem in the South and New Delhi areas where a large number of low-floor buses are in operation.
“Though there is not much of an impact after the phaseout of most of the Blueline buses, certain areas in the capital need more buses given that a large number of commuters there are dependent on public transport. After the new low-floor buses are added in the fleet of the DTC these areas will be given the due priority,” added the official.
Even the rollout of bus service under the cluster scheme has been delayed, as the transport department has to provide for the bus conductors to the operators. The first bus cluster, which should have hit the roads, too has been delayed, as the government only recently invited application from agencies to provide bus conductors, as the transport department is outsourcing the job to the private agencies.