Note ban delays new buses’ rollout

NEW DELHI: The queues at banks and ATMs might have eased, but the impact of demonetisation is now reflecting in Delhi’s bid to augment its public transport network.

The 225 new cluster buses were supposed to be rolled out on city roads by January. But the process of inducting them was delayed by two months after the Centre demonetised notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 on November 8, sources said.

Officials said procuring new buses involves making payments at multiple levels, and several groups are paid in cash. “Demonetisation slowed down the process. We used to pay for procuring spare parts, which got delayed after the November 8 announcement as manufacturers themselves kept mulling on the payment mode,” said a government official.

Government estimates show Delhi needs at least 11,000 buses to meet its estimated population of 1.93 crore.

However, with just 4,121 buses, the DTC fleet size is the lowest in six years. This, when the 2011 census suggests that Delhi’s population is growing by an average of 3.5 lakh each year and that 1,400 new cars are being added to its roads daily.

In such a scenario, adding even 225 buses would mean providing public transport to at least 10,000 people.

Another problem being faced is transporting the new buses. Some of the buses come from Pune and transporters have always been paid in cash. “We had no cash to pay the transporters. The trucks too are reaching weeks late as there are at least 10 checkpoints from Pune to Delhi, and drivers who hardly use cards have to pay for CNG and other miscellaneous expenses. The situation has not normalised as people are not ready to give away their cash easily after waiting for hours outside ATMs and banks,” said a transport official.

Demonetisation has had a cascading effect as manufacturing industries remained partially closed, workers were caught up standing in queues and raw materials couldn’t be bought.