DTC scraps ageing line; commuters face longer wait for buses

Delhiites may soon find themselves facing a longer wait to catch a bus as Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has started the process of phasing out its entire fleet of standard-floor or 'yellow' buses even as the national capital grapples with an acute shortage of buses.
"From April till date, 270 standard-floor buses have been scrapped and more are set for scrapping as operational costs are very high for these vehicles," said a DTC official speaking on condition of anonymity.
With 270 standard-floor buses off the roads, the number of DTC buses has come down to 5,040 (3,765 AC and non-AC floor buses and 1,275 standard-floor buses) from around 5,200 earlier.

The standard-floor buses are now "beyond repair" and buying new auto parts for them is turning out to be a considerable expense, he said, adding that the entire fleet of such buses is in any case operating over the usual service ceiling.
Presently, there is demand for 11,000 buses in Delhi. As per an agreement between DTC and DIMTS, both have to run 5,500 buses each in the national capital.
But DTC currently operates 5,040 buses while DIMTS has only 1,157 buses, a shortfall of 4,343 from the required number of 5,500 buses.
"The operational cost for a standard-floor bus is Rs 90/km while for a low-floor one it is Rs 45-50/km. DTC is facing heavy loss due to operation of standard-floor buses," the official added.

Earlier this year, DTC floated tenders to purchase around 1,700 buses (including low-floor and AC-floor buses), but no company has shown any interest in this regard.