DTC Board gives nod to procure 1,250 low-floor buses

In a move that will boost public transport in the national capital, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) Board in its meeting on Friday decided for procurement of 1,250 low floor air-conditioned CNG buses. Transport minister Kailash Gahlot, who chaired the meeting, said the Delhi government under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is committed to augment its public transport system, while ensuring that environmental pollution is reduced.

The new buses, part of the DTC fleet, will be Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) compliant. No new buses have been procured by the DTC in nearly past one decade. The new buses would be equipped with state-of-the art features like real-time passenger information system, CCTVs, panic buttons, GPS, besides being differently-abled friendly, the Transport minister's office said in a statement.

Induction of the low floor air-conditioned buses by the DTC will begin after approval of the Council of Ministers, it said. The DTC currently runs 3,762 buses, and both DTC and the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) together operate a fleet of 6,601 public transport buses in Delhi. In the last two years, 1,681 new buses had been added to Delhi's bus fleet. With the induction of these 1,250 buses, the total fleet size in Delhi would reach an all-time high of 7,851 buses, according to the statement.