Delhi:Public Transportation is getting better

Slowly but surely Delhi’s sloppy public transport system is changing. It’s still not the kind of system that a world class city deserves, but with the Metro increasing its footprint and new, low-floor buses — some of them air-conditioned — hitting the roads, the surly DTC conductor in his oven of a tin bus could be a thing of the past. Much has been written about the Metro, which is a big hit with commuters. But now the talking point is buses — green, sleek ones, and more to the point, the new cherry red airconditioned fleet that DTC has just introduced with much fanfare. And more such comfortable public transport options are on their way. On Tuesday, a global tender was floated for 300 air conditioned feeder buses to provide city-wide connectivity to the Metro. With these buses, door-to-door travel in cool comfort may just become a possibility. It would certainly push back memories of ramshackle Bluelines, driven with lunatic urgency. The quiet turnaround story of Delhi’s much-maligned public transport network is impressive enough to make at least some people leave their fourwheelers at home. DTC has undertaken a training programme in courtesy for all its drivers and conductors. DTC procuring 525 low-floor buses, of which 25 will be AC. Of these, 258 buses (8 AC) are already plying on city roads .The Delhi Metro AC buses will all be 24-28 seaters and like the rest of the public transport in the city, will run on CNG. In the tender, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has specified that the bidder should have at least three years experience of manufacturing buses or providing after sales. Further, the manufacturing unit where the buses will be produced must have a ISO:9001 certification and supplied at least 300 buses in any part of the world in the past two years.