Fleet of DTC buses, its routes, trips all have gone down during AAP's rule: LoP Gupta

The Delhi BJP on Friday claimed a steep decline in the number of DTC buses and their routes during the AAP government's four-and-a-half year rule.

Citing a city government's reply to a plea under the RTI Act, Leader of Opposition in Delhi assembly Vijender Gupta said the fleet of Delhi Transport Corporation buses has gone down by 25 percent during the AAP government's tenure.

He also alleged that the number of passengers travelling in buses on various DTC routes has also come down during the period.

No immediate reaction was available from the ruling AAP or the DTC.

A government official, however, said the efforts are on to procure 4000 buses, including 100 electric buses.

"The delivery of standard floor buses has already started. The government has targeted to boost the fleet by 4000 buses by the end of 2020," he added.

The DTC and Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System (DIMTS) run around 5,500 buses currently.

Gupta also claimed even the number of bus trips has come down.

"As many as 150 routes with about 1,200 trips on them have been discontinued during the last six months," Gupta claimed, citing the RTI replies.

He asked the government to restore the routes immediately, saying the BJP will launch an agitation for this.

The number of DTC buses on road is hardly one-third of what it should have been as per a Delhi High Court diorection and the AAP's own election manifesto, Gupta claimed.

Various estimates put the number of public transport buses needed in the city to over 11,000.