Over 300 Cluster Buses Taken Off Delhi Roads

Over 300 cluster buses have been taken off Delhi roads following the expiry of their contract with the transport department, officials said on Friday.

They said the orange buses were inducted into the fleet around 2011 and had become overage. Their contract had expired one-and-a-half years ago but it kept getting renewed, the officials added.

Cluster buses are monitored and managed by the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited (DIMTS). They were introduced in Delhi with the aim of replacing the killer Blue Line buses that were phased out in 2012.

The cluster buses that have gone off the roads used to play in south, southwest, west and outer Delhi.

"There are 330 buses that have gone off the roads. These had become overage and will soon be replaced by new buses. The DIMTS has signed a contract and the new buses will start plying soon," an official said.

Another official said the DIMTS has already inked a contract with a new company for replacing these buses. The new buses will be on roads in the next two to three months after the necessary formalities are completed, he added.

The new buses will run on CNG. They will be air-conditioned, the official said.

The DIMTS will also be inducting electric buses in the cluster bus fleet. Delhi has a fleet of over 7,300 buses, including nearly 3,000 cluster buses, on over 400 routes.

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