But DMRC fails to run feeder buses

NEW DELHI: After Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) failed to effectively run feeder bus services in the city, it has now approached the Delhi government to take over the operations of the bus service. A final decision on the matter is awaited, sources said.
In the absence of proper public transport to act as a feeder to the Metro trains, DMRC was granted permit by the state transport authority (STA) to run Metro feeder buses on certain routes.DMRC then procured 120 mini buses that were put on 17 feeder routes, but now the buses are running on a few routes only.
DMRC had terminated the contract of the bus operator for deficiency in services in March this year and since then it had not been able to find another operator to run the feeder bus system. According to DMRC, the operator did not meet the quality standards set by the corporation. The buses were dirty, didn’t follow schedules or set routes, and the number of buses on the road were less than the mandated 90% of the total.
Sources said that finding a new operator was proving to be a major issue, as DMRC had not been able to find an operator for the next lot of 300 airconditioned buses that were being procured. The buses were supposed to be operational by March this year but DMRC had reportedly not even taken delivery of the vehicles from the manufacturer. ‘‘There were some technical problems with the bus design due to which the prototype was rejected by the state transport authority. We are yet to take delivery of the buses,’’ said a DMRC spokesperson.
DMRC had floated tenders seeking operators to run the buses nearly two years ago, but only two operators, including the operator whose service was terminated, responded.
Experts feel that the task to run feeder buses for Delhi Metro should be handed over to DTC. ‘‘DMRC doesn’t have the competence to run the feeder bus system. There are serious problems in the procurement of vehicles and their design, route planning and implementation. The new AC bus project is expensive and DMRC still has not found an operator to run these buses,’’ said SP Singh of Indian Federation of Transportation Research and Training (IFTRT). He added that DTC has a large number of depots and the expertise to run and maintain buses.
Meanwhile, Delhi government said that DTC authorities were busy with the Games and would soon look into DMRC’s request.