Sunday, October 4, 2009

DTC Added 107 new buses to its low-floor fleet

83 To Ply On Three Routes In BRT Corridor

Finally, some good news regarding low floor buses. On Sunday, 107 low-floor buses — maximum in a single lot so far — were added to DTC fleet, increasing the number of total DTC buses plying on city roads to 6,500.

The new buses, said sources, would be mostly pressed into service in the BRT corridor, bringing relief to thousands of commuters who use these routes. Commuters in other parts of the city will have to wait till March next year to get better frequency of low-floor buses. The government hopes to increase the number of this fleet to 3,125 by end of March.

Commissioning the new buses, chief minister Sheila Dikshit said many more such vehicles are needed. ‘‘London has 10,000 buses and for 1.6 crore population, we need to have more of such buses. We saw this dream 3-4 years ago, but there were design related issues. We rectified them and brought these buses,’’ she said.

The CM claimed a big fleet of modern buses was a sign of ‘‘Delhi marching ahead’’ but stressed ‘‘the people should have a sense of responsibility towards these vehicles and maintain them properly’’. ‘‘Treat DTC buses as you treat your own car. For visitors, local buses are the first impression of the city. Keep them clean. For us, the priority is to shift twowheeler and car users to buses,’’ Dikshit said.

Transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely termed increase in the fleet of DTC buses a ‘‘new revolution in city’s transport system’’. ‘‘There is no alternate to DTC as far as public transport in Delhi is concerned. This would also save Delhiites from Blueline buses,’’ Lovely added.

Sources in the DTC said 83 buses of the new fleet would ply on three routes in the BRT corridor. Currently, low-floor buses plying on route No 419, 423 and 522 make around 731 trips per day. With new buses, the number would increase to 1036 trips per day.

DTC officials said that earlier the corporation was diverting buses from three depots — Sukhdev Vihar, Mayapuri and Subhash Palace — to serve commuters on the BRT corridor. But now a new depot has been started at Ambedkar Nagar and it would mean saving time and fuel. It would also free up a few buses that, said sources, would be diverted to other routes in the capital.

With these 107 buses, the number of AC buses on Delhi roads has increased to 55 and non-AC buses to 708. DTC managing director Naresh Kumar said the power of ACs in the new buses has been increased to bring maximum comfort to passengers. Dikshit also asked the transport department to explore the possibility of special tourist buses and doubledecker buses on select routes.


Road Revolution

Speed limit (40kmph) through engine management software
Gas leakage detection system
Tubeless tyres
Display of approaching bus stops with integrated voice announcement system compatible with GPS

Source : http://epaper.timesofindia.com

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