The Delhi government has given the green signal to a scheme for a premium bus service that intends to reduce intracity usage of private vehicles and help cut down pollution. Earlier in August this year, the Aam Aadmi Party-led government had uploaded the Delhi Motor Vehicles Licensing of Aggregator (Premium Buses) Scheme, 2023 on its website and sought public feedback.
According to officials, the city government seeks to encourage the middle and upper-middle classes to switch to public transport through the scheme. According to the scheme, a licence holder shall ensure that no premium bus will be engaged or acquired with a registration date beyond three years from the date of notification of the scheme.
What the Delhi govt stated?
"Subsequently, induction of any new Premium bus, the prevailing emission norms, BS-VI must be compliant, either Air-Conditioned CNG or electric buses. After January 1, 2025, the induction of only electric buses shall be allowed, no CNG-operated bus even if having BS-VI compliance shall be allowed to be inducted under this scheme," it said.
The scheme mandates that an aggregator shall take measures to ensure the safety and security of women passengers and provide a rapid response mechanism, including a panic button on its mobile and web-based applications that should be functional at all times and have modalities of API-based integration with law enforcement agencies for prompt redressal of complaints.
DTC to use BS VI buses
It permits dynamic pricing provided that the base fare shall not be less than the peak fare of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) air-conditioned buses. For the intercity bus operations, the DTC will be operating Bharat Stage (BS) VI buses. All the buses will be equipped with CCTV, GPS, panic buttons and more, providing convenient and safer travel for long-distance commuters.
(With inputs from PTI)
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