3760 ‘overage’ DTC buses plying on roads, risking lives: Reports

In a primary, about 3760 Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses have been formally declared ‘overage’, reported Hindustan Times (HT). This is the primary time when a complete fleet of buses has been dubbed as ‘overage’ for the reason that inception of DTC in 1971. The DTC falls underneath the Government of NCT, Delhi dominated by Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal.
HT reported that 99% of DTC buses have surpassed the technical restrict for low-floor CNG buses. It have to be talked about {that a} bus is deemed as ‘overage’ when it stays in operation for greater than 8 years. As per Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), a low-floor CNG bus can run for a most of 12 years or 7.5 lac km (whichever comes later). The scenario is so alarming that not one of the 3760 buses are 6-8 years outdated.
HT reported that using ‘overage buses’ have led to low productiveness. The common variety of every day journeys has diminished from 33,497 journeys (2015- 2016) to 30,000 now. Given that DTC is barely allowed to function low-floor CNG buses by the Supreme Court, the variety of breakdowns have elevated drastically. Such buses are susceptible to breakdowns as a consequence of poor situation of roads and flooded stretches.
DTC working overage buses, sustaining fleet far decrease than required
According to Hindustan Times, solely 32 buses are 8-10 years outdated whereas a whopping 3072 buses are 10-12 years outdated. More than 656 buses, plying on the roads of Delhi, are older than the utmost operational restrict of 12 years. DTC is remitted to take care of a fleet of 5,500 buses however the present energy of 3760 buses is way decrease than the authorized quantity. To add salt to the wound, the Delhi authorities had submitted an affidavit earlier than the Delhi High Court in 2018 and claimed that the town wants a whopping 11,000 buses.
Even if non-public cluster buses have been to be added to the prevailing fleet, the full energy involves round 6750 (far decrease than the required 11000 buses). HT reported that the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) was in a position to approve tender for brand spanking new buses in 2008 for the final time. Between 2013 and 2019, it floated 5 tenders however none might be finalised as a consequence of stringent Annual upkeep contracts (AMCs). As such, getting a profitable tender for brand spanking new buses has been a serious problem for DTC. Given that all the fleet of DTC buses have now turn into ‘overage’, they’re ideally purported to be scrapped.
Operating overage buses have led to excessive maintenace prices, decrease productiveness
Due to no procurement of recent buses, the Delhi Transport Corporation has been working ‘overage’ buses and risking lives. The variety of scrapped buses has been negligible. Only 2 buses have been scrapped between 2020-2021 and none within the present monetary yr. About 80 buses have been withdrawn between 2019-2020 whereas 2209 autos have been withdrawn between 2011-2017 at a median of 368 buses/ yr. Nevertheless, the upkeep price of working outdated buses is extraordinarily excessive.
While talking in regards to the matter, DTC Managing Director Vijay Bhaduri instructed HT that they should add new buses to DTC’s fleet as a result of the expenditure on sustaining these outdated buses can be rising. “Even as we are running overaged buses, we cannot compromise on safety and have to keep the buses in their best possible condition, which is an expensive affair,” he stated. He added that the State Transport Authority (STA) has now allowed to make use of the overage buses upto 15 years (virtually double of the prescribed operational restrict). He claimed that it has given DTC a 2-3 years window to interchange all the fleet of buses.
Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot conceded, “Yes, it is true, and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has also expressed concern as our state-run buses are the lifeline of Delhi’s public transport. Our DTC and cluster buses together carry at least one million passengers more than the Delhi Metro every day. So, we planned a revival of the DTC by pumping in 1,300 new buses in the next seven months,” he stated.
L-G constituted committee asks DTC to scrap ₹3,412 crore AMC for brand spanking new buses
On July 10, a three-member committee constituted by the Lt Governor of Delhi directed the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to scrap the Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) awarded for low-floor buses as a consequence of ‘procedural lapses’. The committee was constituted by Lt. Governor Anil Baijal on June 16 to probe the alleged rip-off within the procurement and AMCs of the brand new fleet of buses. The DTC had floated separate tenders for the acquisition and AMC for the buses.
Although the preliminary plan was to award a ₹4265 crore contract for AMC for 1250 buses, the quantity was diminished to 1000 buses. The upkeep contract of ₹3412 crores was stored for 1000 buses for a 12-year interval. However, the committee discovered that the tender circumstances ensured that there have been not many bidders for the AMC contract.
The committee famous, “While separate bids for purchase and AMC can be justified with a view to get greater competition and a larger number of bids, the efforts made to get more bids is not apparent.” In its report, the committee stated that the tender for AMC was ‘too restrictive’ and the charges have been ‘far higher’ than the earlier contracts floated by the Delhi Transport Corporation. Due to the restrictive nature of the eligibility standards for AMC, the target behind splitting the tender failed. The report added, “The process of discounting for a longer duration contract was not undertaken and only a total cost evaluation was done.”