Delhi govt starts work on scheme to launch premium bus service

The Delhi government has started working on its scheme to launch premium bus service on city roads to meet the challenge of boosting public transport in the national capital, officials said.

The app-based premium bus service scheme was announced in April, 2016 by the Delhi government.

"The Transport department has started working on the premium bus scheme and focusing on removing legal issues concerning it," said a senior government official.

The matter is before a high-powered committee of the Transport department, that will meet on Friday, he said.

On the lines of app-based taxi services, the seats in the premium buses could be booked through apps. The proposed scheme provided for running at least 50 air conditioned buses by an aggregator.

Sources said that there were differences between the Transport department and the government over nature of the bus service.

The government wanted contract carriage permit for the buses under the scheme, whereas the Transport department favour stage carriage permits.

In stage carriage permit, routes are fixed and buses can pick and drop passengers at stoppages on a given route.

In contract carriage permits, buses ply without having any stoppages on any given route which is not fixed.