Delhi: Public transport in crisis as DTC bus fleet shrinks, says Yadav

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Devender Yadav on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led administration, accusing it of devastating the Capital’s public transport system by phasing out over 2,000 DTC buses without a clear plan for replenishment. Amid a searing heatwave, he said lakhs of commuters were left stranded daily at shelterless bus stops.

Yadav said public transport in the city is facing one of its worst crises in the recent memory, especially impacting women, children and the elderly.

“Instead of improving the DTC services as promised, the BJP government has phased out more than 2,000 buses, leaving the public high and dry,” he said.

He alleged that the newly formed Rekha Gupta-led Delhi Government moved quickly to decommission overaged CNG buses but has failed to follow through on its own announcement of inducting 1,000 new buses by April.

“No concrete step has been taken so far to buy new buses,” Yadav said.

Citing data, Yadav noted that the number of DTC buses had fallen from 4,344 in 2015-16 to 3,937 in 2022-23, a significant drop from the 7,000 buses that operated daily during the Congress-led Sheila Dikshit regime.

He said the Delhi High Court had observed the city needs at least 11,000 buses to meet its growing population’s needs.

The Congress leader also slammed the government’s reported plan to phase out nearly 1 lakh CNG autos, warning that such a move would push lakhs of families, who depended on these vehicles for livelihood, into financial distress.

Yadav held both BJP and the AAP responsible for what he described as the ruin of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).

He alleged that corruption under AAP and policy confusion under the BJP left the corporation in debt and the public transport infrastructure in tatters.

Delhi