Reduction of DTC bus fares may take another week

NEW DELHI: Delhi government on Sunday missed its January 1 deadline for reducing DTC bus fares.

Sources said people may have to wait for some more days before expecting relief as the government has sought comments from various departments on slashing fares by as much as 75%, after which it needs to get the L-G’s nod.

After comments from various departments is received and reviewed, the file proposing the fare slash will go the lieutenant governor for his final approval.

Sources said, the entire process might take a week or more.

“We have sought comments on the file pertaining to reduction in fares from various departments. After that it will be sent to the L-G for approval,” a government official confirmed.

The reduced fares — aimed at encouraging people to use public transport — were to come into effect from Sunday (January 1) for a month. For the whole of January, the government had planned a flat fare of ₹5 in non-AC Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses and ₹10 for air-conditioned buses.

Right now, a ride in a non-AC bus can cost anywhere between ₹5 and ₹15. The AC buses charge fares between ₹10 and ₹25. The government will also give free travel passes to students (below the age of 21), widows and senior citizens.

It is also offering a permanent discount of 75% on travel passes to women and those belonging to the economically weaker section. They can get a monthly pass for ₹250, which currently costs ₹800 for non-AC buses and ₹1,000 for AC buses.

As per the data, 21.80% Delhi commuters travel by bus but share of buses among all registered vehicles in Delhi has gone down from 1.52% in 1980-81 to 0.36% in 2014-15.

Presently, DTC has 4,121 buses while there are around 1,500 cluster buses (orange). It carried 43.47 lakh passengers per day in 2013-14, which reduced to 38.87 lakh per day in 2014-15. The number further dwindled to to 35 lakh in 2015-16.