HC grants permission to DMRC to buy semi-low floor buses for feeder service

The Delhi High Court Wednesday permitted DMRC to get semi-low floor mini buses for last mile connectivity from metro stations with a direction to install hydraulic lifts to make them accessible to people with disability.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao allowed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to procure the buses after it agreed to install hydraulic lifts.

The application was filed in a pending PIL of Nipun Malhotra, who has been opposing induction of semi-low floor buses for public transport on the ground that they were not disabled friendly.

Malhotra's counsel Jai Dehadrai initially opposed the plea as these buses are not low floor but consented later after the authorities agreed to install hydraulic lifts in these buses.

DMRC had requested for the permission to get semi-low floor mini buses saying its fleet of feeder service vehicles was not in a good condition.

It had said the state transport department was refusing to register such buses as they did not have low floors as ordered by the high court in 2007.

It had told the bench that at present it was operating a fleet of 174 mini buses of which 25 were standard floor and the rest, semi-low floor.

DMRC had also said that when it floated tenders for procuring low floor electric and CNG mini buses, it found that no one manufactured low floor CNG mini buses, but the electric variant might be available.

It had assured that it would procure the low floor electric buses, but that would take time.

It had said that since it needed to augment its "depleting" fleet as soon as possible, to provide last mile connectivity to commuters, it be permitted to procure semi-low floor CNG mini buses and assured the court that ramps or electric lifts would be fitted to make the vehicles accessible to those who are on wheelchairs.

Delhi government had told the court that concern raised by the metro appeared to be genuine.