Govt okays procurement of 1,000 low-floor AC buses

New Delhi: The Delhi government on Thursday approved a proposal to procure 1,000 low-floor air-conditioned buses under the cluster scheme, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. "The cabinet has given its nod to the procurement of 1,000 low-floor air-conditioned buses. 

These buses will start hitting the city roads in July (next year)... These will be run under the kilometer scheme," Sisodia told reporters.

 The government said prospective bidders will be asked to install CCTVs and AVTSs (automated vehicles tracking systems) in the buses, as per the specification finalized by the Transport Department. 

Later, in a statement, it said the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) may be appointed as the bidding process manager. The DIMTS was asked to conduct a study on "route rationalization". Hence, some of the 657 approved routes are likely to be changed, it said. 

The Delhi government has to augment the city bus fleet to 11,000 buses in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court. "Both the courts are regularly monitoring the augmentation of the bus fleet. 

Till date, the overall fleet of DTC and cluster buses stands at 5,460," the statement read.