The Delhi Transport department is going to add just 3,000 more buses to its fleet during the fortnight-long restriction on cars on the basis of odd-even registration plate numbers, exactly half of what it had promised earlier. The decision comes after officials analysed that since the two-wheelers are exempt from the experiment, 3,000 buses will suffice to take the additional load of passengers.
“Because the two-wheelers do not have to follow the scheme, we realised that we don’t require 6,000 buses and only 3,000 buses will be enough. It is the private car owners who will shift to public transport,” said Transport Minister Gopal Rai.
Mr. Rai visited Banda Bahadur Marg bus depot near GTB Nagar in north Delhi on Sunday to inspect the trial run of extra DTC Prayawaran Bus Sewa. “We had earlier announced more buses as two-wheelers weren’t exempted. We will increase the strength of the buses in the coming months,” said Mr. Rai.
The Delhi government on Sunday conducted a trial run of around 750 private buses to ply during road-rationing experiment that begins from January 1. Mr. Rai has extended the registration date for enrolling private buses, which will be plying under ‘DTC Paryavaran Bus Sewa’.
“So far, around 2,732 private buses have been registered for the odd-even scheme. Out of this around 1,832 are school buses,” DTC spokesperson Dr. R.S. Minhas said. He added that around 750 buses, which have been given special permits, will be plying on various routes.
News : The Hindu