Delhi govt planning to start vehicle disinfection services at fuel stations

The Delhi Transport Department is planning to start disinfection services for public and private vehicles at a minimal cost at all fuel stations in the city, a senior officer said on Friday.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the government has made mandatory disinfection of public buses and paratransit vehicles like taxis and autorickshaws after each trip.

It is being planned to start disinfection services for public and private vehicles as well as passengers at a minimal cost, the Delhi Transport Department officer said.

"The facility is likely to be operationalised within a week," he said.

After almost two months, public transport resumed in the national capital on May 19 under relaxed conditions of lockdown 4.0. Movement of private vehicles was also permitted by the Delhi government.

Since May 19, the number of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses and their ridership has been going up, according to the officer.

While 2,259 DTC and cluster buses were on the road on May 19, the number rose to 3,535 on May 20 and to 3,983 on May 21, he said.

The ridership has also gone up from 1,57,731 on May 19 to 3,28,484 on May 20 and 3,52,661 on May 21, he added.

DTC and Delhi Integrated Multimodal Transit System (DIMTS) operate 6,348 buses.

Some of the buses have also been provided to other government departments including police, revenue and health under special hire.

The Revenue Department had hired 1,452 buses on May 21, while more than 700 were hired by police and health departments.