The Hindu : New Delhi News : Delhi cracks down on Bluelines

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Wednesday, Jul 11, 2007
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New Delhi

Delhi cracks down on Bluelines

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Joint teams of Traffic Police and inspectors of Transport Dept. to inspect buses

NEW DELHI: Following a spate of fatal accidents involving Blueline buses in the Capital in recent days, the Delhi Government has constituted joint teams of the Delhi Traffic Police and traffic inspectors of the Transport Department to physically inspect the buses to ascertain their permits and to impound those running illegally.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday said a slew of short-term and long-term measures had been taken to discipline the drivers of these buses and bring about some semblance of order on the roads. She said the inspection teams had also been directed to impose penalties commensurate with the violation of the permit conditions on the buses.

Ms. Dikshit said bus owners had been directed to ensure that the drivers wear uniform and a copy of the permit is pasted on the front windscreen of the vehicle. Moreover, buses would now be required to undergo a fitness test every six months instead of a year earlier. Also, the permits that used to be issued for five years would now only be renewed on a temporary basis for six months. ``We will be phasing out all the Blueline buses, but since it would take some time for the new buses to come in, we would be extending their permits only for a short duration,” said Ms. Dikshit.

The Chief Minister said the Transport Department would be coming out with advertisements in a couple of days inviting corporate houses and cooperatives to ply their buses in Delhi. “Under the terms, which are being given a final shape, a minimum of 200 buses would have to be plied by each of these groups,” Ms. Dikshit said.

Stating that people are tired of the Blueline buses and have been approaching her seeking that they be completely removed from the roads, she said efforts are being made to ensure that there is no immediate shortage of vehicles due to the clampdown. “The Delhi Transport Corporation would be getting 500 more buses in August and September. So we need some time before we can remove the Blueline buses from the roads.” However, the impact of Tuesday’s crackdown on the Blueline buses was immediate: thousands of commuters all over the city were left stranded as many private buses went off the road fearing persecution by the authorities.

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