DTC’s entire fleet is ‘over-age’: Report

NEW DELHI: 3760 Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses operating in Delhi are beyond their age of six years, reported Hindustan Times (HT). Since the inception of DTC in 1971, this the first time that the entire fleet of buses has been termed as ‘over age’.

HT informed that a majority of DTC buses have surpassed their technical limit for low-floor CNG buses. These buses have been operating for over eight years. According to Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), a low-floor CNG bus can operate for a maximum of 12 years or till 7.5 lakh kilometers. The situation in Delhi is so alarming because the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi is in dire need of additional buses now, more than ever, to augment the ease of commuting for Delhiites.

Moreover, the maintenance cost of these old buses is also high. Vijay Bhaduri, Managing Director, DTC, informed HT that they are planning to add new buses to DTC’s fleet, keeping in mind the high cost of maintenance of these old buses. “Running over age buses can compromise on the safety of the people and State Transport Authority (STA) has now allowed using the buses up to 15 years, which will provide us a time window of 2-3 years to replace the entire fleet of buses,” he added.

Kailash Gahlot, Delhi Transport Minister, conceded that these buses are the lifeline of Delhi’s public transport. “So, we have planned to pump in 1300 new buses in the next few months,” Gahlot said. Currently, the city is in need of 11,000 buses and DTC is mandated to maintain a fleet of 5500 buses. However, the current strength of 3760 shows how low the actual number of buses in use are.