Premium bus services: Govt calls on pvt players to register

The notification for the scheme was published Monday. It read, “Air pollution in Delhi has reached levels that pose a serious threat to the health and well-being of its residents… (and) the prevailing quality and reliability of bus services discourages motor car owners from commuting by buses, the government notifies guidelines for the same.”

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The registration of private buses under the scheme will start on June 1, Rai had announced. He had also said a similar aggregator scheme would be formulated for taxis later.

“The last time (first phase of odd-even), many car owners used DTC buses to travel but many found it difficult to do that in this heat (second phase). The Metro has also seen increased rush. Keeping that in mind, we will launch app-based premium AC bus services in which two CCTV cameras, WiFi, GPS, fire-extinguishers and first-aid kits will be mandatory,” Rai had said.

As per the notification, bus owners with a minimum of 50 buses can approach the government. The notification says the seat bookings and payment on these buses will be made through an online application and the list of passengers has to be displayed online. The final list will be frozen five minutes before the bus departs. This is a measure to prevent drivers from taking more passengers. A panic button for women’s safety is also included.

Violation of any rules will come with a fine of Rs 5,000. Besides, all buses have to be CNG fuelled. The notification says the owners who register with the government will have to bring their vehicles to a notified place for checks. All drivers’ badges and verification certificates will be checked. After the checks, the government will issue a registration certificate to the bus owner within a month.

“The fares of Premium Buses shall not be regulated or subsidised by the government and may, therefore, be market-determined. However, if and when need arises, government may prescribe upper limit of fare and/or take steps to check predatory pricing,” the government’s policy states.

“The Passenger Aggregator may determine the routes on which the Premium Buses shall ply from time to time, and shall specify such routes along with the time schedule of each trip on its web-based application,” it states.

What private aggregators say

Ola welcomed the government’s move. “We look forward to working with the Government in extending a world class daily commute solution from Ola Shuttle, to citizens across the state… We are confident that this will go a long way in solving for key issues like congestion, pollution and parking that we are faced with today,” it said in a statement.

Shuttl, which largely covers Gurgaon and is expanding in Delhi, was upbeat during odd-even phase two, offering free rides to customers and expanding routes by 31 per cent because of increased demand. “Oddly even Delhi embraces a better way to commute,” it tweeted.