<p>Over 400 Delhi Transport Corporation buses breakdown every day, as heavy monsoon rain has escalated waterlogging and traffic woes in the city. <br /><br /></p>.<p>DTC meanwhile said it is awaiting cabinet approval to float tender to add more buses to its depleting fleet. <br /><br />Following a week of heavy monsoon rain in the national capital, breakdown of buses were reported from Punjabi Bagh, Jiya Sarai and Mandi House on Monday. <br /><br />Over three dozen traffic advisories issued by the Delhi Traffic Police in the past week alone pertain to congestion due to the breakdown of state-run buses. <br /><br />Traffic cops explain how painstaking it is to take the broken down low-floor DTC buses off road. The buses can’t be towed away by traffic police cranes because of pneumatic and hydraulic control supporting them.<br /><br />“Before cranes can do their job, hydraulic pressure supporting these buses needs to be released first by the trained DTC staff,” a senior police official said.<br /><br />On Ring Road <br />The breakdown of buses creates traffic jams not just on the arterial roads. Many traffic advisories issued by the traffic police on Twitter suggest that many of the breakdowns happened on the busy Ring Road.<br /><br />“Breakdown of DTC bus No. DL 1PC 8148 at Punjabi Bagh round about. It is being removed. Inconvenience is regretted,” posted the Traffic Police at 10.35 am on Monday. <br /><br />The city traffic police said it takes longer to tow away buses during evenings, more so on weekdays.<br />Admitting that DTC buses are adding to traffic woes, DTC spokesperson RS Minhas said: “The electrical system and wiring in low-floor buses gets damaged due to rain and waterlogging on roads. Roughly, 400 buses breakdown every day.” “DTC’s mandate is to run 5,500 buses daily. However, we have almost 4,700 buses in our fleet,” he said. <br /><br />The poor response from providers of CNG-powered low-floor buses has been a major hurdle in fleet augmentation. The bidders, official sources said, quote higher maintenance charges.<br /><br />Delhi government has decided to procure 1,380 semi-low-floor non-AC buses and 500 midi buses to meet the shortfall of buses. <br /><br />These new buses will replace the fleet of standard low-floor buses that has outlived its utility.<br />Sources claim that DTC is likely to do away with its annual maintenance contract to lure in prospective bidders.<br /></p>
<p>Over 400 Delhi Transport Corporation buses breakdown every day, as heavy monsoon rain has escalated waterlogging and traffic woes in the city. <br /><br /></p>.<p>DTC meanwhile said it is awaiting cabinet approval to float tender to add more buses to its depleting fleet. <br /><br />Following a week of heavy monsoon rain in the national capital, breakdown of buses were reported from Punjabi Bagh, Jiya Sarai and Mandi House on Monday. <br /><br />Over three dozen traffic advisories issued by the Delhi Traffic Police in the past week alone pertain to congestion due to the breakdown of state-run buses. <br /><br />Traffic cops explain how painstaking it is to take the broken down low-floor DTC buses off road. The buses can’t be towed away by traffic police cranes because of pneumatic and hydraulic control supporting them.<br /><br />“Before cranes can do their job, hydraulic pressure supporting these buses needs to be released first by the trained DTC staff,” a senior police official said.<br /><br />On Ring Road <br />The breakdown of buses creates traffic jams not just on the arterial roads. Many traffic advisories issued by the traffic police on Twitter suggest that many of the breakdowns happened on the busy Ring Road.<br /><br />“Breakdown of DTC bus No. DL 1PC 8148 at Punjabi Bagh round about. It is being removed. Inconvenience is regretted,” posted the Traffic Police at 10.35 am on Monday. <br /><br />The city traffic police said it takes longer to tow away buses during evenings, more so on weekdays.<br />Admitting that DTC buses are adding to traffic woes, DTC spokesperson RS Minhas said: “The electrical system and wiring in low-floor buses gets damaged due to rain and waterlogging on roads. Roughly, 400 buses breakdown every day.” “DTC’s mandate is to run 5,500 buses daily. However, we have almost 4,700 buses in our fleet,” he said. <br /><br />The poor response from providers of CNG-powered low-floor buses has been a major hurdle in fleet augmentation. The bidders, official sources said, quote higher maintenance charges.<br /><br />Delhi government has decided to procure 1,380 semi-low-floor non-AC buses and 500 midi buses to meet the shortfall of buses. <br /><br />These new buses will replace the fleet of standard low-floor buses that has outlived its utility.<br />Sources claim that DTC is likely to do away with its annual maintenance contract to lure in prospective bidders.<br /></p>
