Transport – Expanding the Bus Fleet

After a gap of 8 years, on 20th Aug 2019, Delhi saw an addition of new buses to its public transport fleet, as CM Kejriwal flagged off 25 new low-floor non-AC buses. These new buses have CCTV cameras, rear surveillance cameras, panic buttons, GPS and hydraulic lifts for differently-abled passengers.

(Source: The New Indian Express – link)

The plan for fleet expansion as of 26th Dec 2019: 

• a total of 1000 low-floor AC CNG-run buses – financial bids opened 
• 1000 cluster e-buses + another 300 electric buses (tenders floated on Oct 15th 2019)

1000 buses to be rolled out under the Cluster scheme:

• non-air-conditioned
• standard-floor buses equipped with hydraulic lifts to make travel for differently-abled commuters more comfortable
• equipped with CCTV cameras and rear surveillance cameras
• with latest features like GPS and panic buttons for the safety of the passengers.

A total of 525 buses hit Delhi roads in 2019. These are 37-seater buses. Each bus has 14 panic buttons (7 on each side) and 3 CCTV cameras.

The AAP Delhi Govt has been steadily expanding the bus fleet since 2019. In July 2019, the Delhi bus fleet had 5554 buses. By Aug 17th 2021, it had grown to 6,793 (DTC – 3,760 buses, Cluster – 3,033 buses).

As of 17th Aug 2021, the Delhi government has strengthened the existing fleet of public buses by adding 452 new BS-VI compliant buses since March 2020.

Dates on which new buses hit Delhi roads 

(Note: This may not be a complete list)

Non-AC Standard-floor buses

• 20th Aug 2019 – Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal flagged off 25 new non-AC standard-floor buses with hydraulic lifts after a gap of 8 years under the cluster scheme of the Delhi Integrated Multi Modal System(DIMTS). It is the first batch of 25 standard floor buses from the entire fleet of 1000 buses to be rolled under the Cluster scheme.
• 25th Oct 2019 – Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged off 104 standard-floor buses fitted with hydraulic lifts, CCTV cameras and panic buttons for women’s safety, apart from rear cameras and hydraulic lifts for the convenience of differently-abled passengers
• 7th Nov 2019 – 100 new buses, part of the 1,000 standard-floor buses that started being delivered last month, were flagged off by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday. The buses are equipped with modern features such as GPS trackers, panic buttons, CCTV cameras and hydraulic lifts for the convenience of the differently-abled.
• 29th Nov 2019 – Delhi CM flagged off another 100 standard-floor buses equipped with GPS trackers, panic buttons, CCTV, and hydraulic lifts for the convenience of the differently-abled under the cluster scheme. 

Most of these buses run between Old Delhi Railway station and Mubarakpur Dabas, Nilothi, Bakoli Temple, Rohini Sector 23 and Lumpur Border. About 15 buses were to operate on the route between Qutubgarh to Palika Kendra and 20 between Uttam Nagar and Delhi airport.

• 10th Dec 2019 – Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot flagged off 100 new  standard-floor buses.

• 26th Dec 2019 – Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal flagged off 100 standard-floor buses equipped with state-of-the-art features like hydraulic lifts for differently-abled persons, GPS trackers, panic buttons and CCTV cameras to ensure safety of women

AC Low-floor buses

• 6th March 2020 – Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged off 100 37-seater low-floor CNG air-conditioned buses under the Cluster Scheme. The buses are equipped with ultra-modern facilities and state-of-the-art features, like fire detection systems, remote monitoring systems, GPS trackers, 14 panic buttons, CCTV cameras, hydraulic lifts, wheelchair ramps for the convenience of the differently-abled (2nd link) 

• 16th Aug 2021 – Delhi Transport Minister, Kailash Gehlot, flagged off 32 new low-floor CNG-propelled AC buses from Rajghat Cluster Depot under the Cluster Scheme of the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd. (DIMTS). These buses have state-of-the-art features like a ramp for the differently-abled, GPS for location tracking, CCTV with live streaming for emergency situations, a panic button for women’s safety, fire suppression system.Currently, cluster buses are operated on 306 city routes network in Delhi. The additional 32 buses will be deployed on four additional cluster routes which include 993, 380, 390 and 244.

Details of new buses added to the fleet by the AAP govt since 2015 

(Note: The list may not be complete.)

The Delhi govt has now embraced an EV-only rule for future bus procurements. This means in a decade Delhi will be the first city to have a fully electric bus fleet.

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(Source: Hindustan Times link)