DTC sleepless over drivers' siesta

NEW DELHI: The rising mercury in the city has had an unlikely fallout. The drivers of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) are cutting short their trips within the city to complete their afternoon siesta. Between one and three in the afternoon, most DTC buses are in depots than on roads. "In the sweltering heat, the bus drivers are not interested in covering the whole route across the city," said a senior DTC official.DTC drivers not going by the route has become a regular feature in this gruelling heat. And it is no surprise that the daily revenue of the Corporation has declined. The earning in the beginning of the summer season was more than Rs 1 crore per day, but now the figure hovers between Rs 70 to 75. DTC computes its daily earnings from the sale of tickets. Realising the seriousness of the issue, 50-odd DTC officers were summoned for a rare meeting on Tuesday evening by transport minister Ajay Maken. The meeting was attended by 33 depot managers, six regional managers, six deputy chief general managers, a chief general manager and other senior officers, including DTC chairman A J S Sawhney. The officers were apparently pulled up by the minister. "Officials were rapped by the minister for less income due to poor monitoring," said an officer who attended the meeting. This was the first time when the minister met all the junior officers after taking over as the minister. Transport department officials said that during summers, the income should actually show an upward growth. "Conventionally, the ticketed earnings go up during this season, as people travel during vacations. But now, the opposite has been happening in the past few weeks," a senior State Transport Authority official said. The declining income has set the alarm bells ringing in the transport establishment. "DTC's monthly bill on wages and spare parts amounts to Rs 36-40 crore. So, the net income should be more than Rs 1 crore per day, at least, to meet the expenditure," said an official.