In the aftermath of a woman being killed and 34 people being injured when a DTC bus rammed into a pillar near Shivaji Park metro station, the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) directed its operators to conduct surprise alcohol checks on bus drivers.

On Monday morning, a woman was killed, and 34 people were injured when a DTC bus they were travelling in rammed into a pillar near Shivaji Park metro station in west Delhi.

The DIMTS, which manages cluster bus services in Delhi, conducted a session on Tuesday for its 17 bus operators and issued directions regarding driver sensitisation and conducting checks on drivers.

 "There have been incidents of cluster bus accidents in the recent past. There was a need to sensitise the bus operators. Apart from making them aware of the measures that need to be taken to avoid cluster bus accidents, they were also issued directions related to conducting checks on drivers," said an official.

 There are 9,000 drivers under DIMTS. According to the official, some measures that will be implemented in the next few days to control accidents include strict implementation of a single duty system for drivers.

"It will be ensured that no under-rest driver will be deployed on duty. The drivers will be counselled before their duty hours. Bus operators have been directed to increase the number of random alcohol tests for the crew. These tests can be conducted before duty hours or after duty hours," he added.

In January this year, a three-year-old child was mowed down allegedly by a cluster bus in the southwest Delhi Najafgarh area. Meanwhile, in March last year, a man was killed after being crushed by the rear wheel of a cluster bus.

According to the Delhi Crash Report of Delhi Traffic Police, 107 accidents were those where cluster buses were involved in 2022, including 22 major ones. The city government, in response to a question on bus accidents, had informed the Delhi Assembly that there had been 207 accidents involving cluster buses between 2019 and December 4, 2023.

Cluster buses were introduced in Delhi to replace Blue Line buses that were phased out in 2012.