The Urban Development Department has asked the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to purchase 1,200 midsize buses, which are highly fuel-efficient and provide 100 per cent occupancy throughout the day.
These buses have 32 seats and such buses are always fully occupied. On the contrary, the Tata Motors (TM) and Ashok leyland (Al) buses plying on Delhi roads for the past two years have barely 40 per cent occupancy during the off-peak hours and almost 60 per cent occupancy in other lean hours. These buses have 100 per cent occupancy only during the peak hours in the morning and evening. Besides, on average 400-500 buses remain off roads due to breakdown and other reasons.
As per the Urban Development Department’s note, the Transport Department provides the two major players Rs 2.50 as maintenance charge per kilometre in the prevailing contract. Both the companies have quoted the charge of Rs 83 per kilometre for annual maintenance charge (AMC) if the DTC purchases new 1,200 midsize buses. This gap is huge and the DTC has the option that it can delete this clause of the AMC during the purchase of new fleet of 1,200 buses. This will help DTC escape
paying the exorbitant charge to TATA and Al as AMC. But sources claimed that that a Chinese transport company has suddenly emerged in the fray to provide midsize buses to DTC. But the DTC is yet to make up its mind on the Chinese supplier of midsize buses. The quality of buses, services to be provided by them and other issues have not yet been revealed.
Next, these 32-seater buses from any of the aforesaid companies are highly fuel-efficient. These midsize buses ply up to 4-km after consuming 1 kilo CNG while present fleet of buses are plying barely 2.5-km in 1 kilo CNG. Thus, not only the midsize buses ensure 100 per cent occupancy but the fuel consumption also comes to around half of the presently plying buses. The issue of AMC has to be decided by the DTC. But the Urban Development Department of the Union Government, which provides 35 per cent financial support in the purchase of entire fleet, is insisting on midsize buses. The DTC authorities are pondering on this issue to arrive at a conclusion at the earliest.
According to officials, DTC has, in fact, decided to opt for semi-low floor, non-AC buses as the high maintenance cost of low-floor buses is proving to be a deterrent for bus manufacturers to participate in the bidding process. Around 6,000 buses are operating in the city. DTC’s efforts to augment its fleet had failed to yield results. It had floated two tenders till date to replace its 1,725 old buses. The latest tender — taken out to procure 1,380 semi-low floor, non-AC buses and 345 low-floor, AC buses — too has yielded no results. The tender for low-floor buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) scheme got one bid from Tata Motors.
