104 buses launched, 125 more next month

NEWDELHI:AHEAD of the launch of Delhi government’s free bus ride for women scheme, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday flagged off 104 new standard floor buses, which will add to the current public bus fleet of 5,454. The government also stated that Delhi will get 125 more buses by next month and nearly 60 air-conditioned buses by January.

Launching the new buses from the bus depot at Dwarka Sector 22, Kejriwal said the addition is a “huge step” towards strengthening Delhi’s public transport.

“On one hand, new buses will be running on the roads of Delhi, and on the other hand, women will be able to access free bus rides starting on the occasion of Bhai Dooj on October 29 (Tuesday). The Delhi government will also deploy bus marshalls within the next week to ensure the safety and security of women in Delhi buses,” the chief minister said.

The 104 buses that were flagged off on Friday were the second lot of buses from the 1,000 standard floor non-ac CNG buses that started being delivered last month. In August this year, Kejriwal had flagged off 25 such buses — the first addition to the DTC’S ageing fleet in nearly a decade. Before this year’s induction, buses were last inducted under the cluster scheme in 2011 and under the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) in 2008.

The buses feature modern technology, including CCTV cameras and panic buttons for women’s safety, and hydraulic lifts for differently abled. While 20 of the 104 buses will operate on the Nangloi-badarpur Extension route, 19 will ply on the Qutubgarh Border to Old Delhi route. Others include Uttam Nagarkapashera Border (15), Qutubgarh-old Delhi Fatehpuri (12), Najafgarh-azadpur (12), Kanjhawala-azadpur (8) , etc.

Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said another 125 standard floor non-ac CNG buses will be added by next month. “We are trying to bring around 60 lowfloor air-conditioned buses by December though the deadline is January next year,” he said.