The DTC’s special shuttle service launched by the Delhi government to ferry MPs to Parliament during the course of the odd-even scheme found few takers Monday morning. While a few commended the move, others called it an inconvenience. Hariom Singh Rathore, BJP Lok Sabha MP from Rajasthan, who took the bus, said he reached Parliament 30 minutes late as buses did not come on time. Most of the MPs said the transport cell usually provides them cabs, a service provided by the DTC. But on Monday, they were told all cabs were busy and the bus could come and fetch them. [related-post] Rathore said, “This has never happened. I called the transport desk and they told us that the cabs are occupied. They sent the bus roped in for odd-even. While the cab would reach in five minutes, I had to wait till 11.15 am for the There has never been shortage of vehicles before this.” He added that six buses are not enough to ferry the MPs. Rathore did not bring a vehicle to Delhi as he is provided pick-and-drop facility by Parliament. To travel within the city, he said, he calls a cab. Another MP who took the bus was Darshan Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party. The 72- year-old Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh said he is all for odd-even. He took the bus to Parliament and had no qualms or complaints. “It was a nice experience. The government is working for the environment and I am all for protecting it. We are living in (a) furnace and it is making us ill. With the special service, we just have to wait for the bus at the second gate,” he said. Most of the MPs, however, complained about the limited access to the special bus service. Dharmendra Kumar, BJP Lok Sabha MP from Aonla, said the arrangement is impossible to follow. “This will not work for us. The bus drops us at the first gate and we have to wait for another one to take us to the second gate. We have to take clearance again and again which is a hassle,” said the MP, who did not bring his car and travels to Parliament by the cab provided for MPs. Meanwhile, Rita Tarai, Lok Sabha MP from Jajpur, Odisha, said she had to wait 15 minutes for the bus. Her husband, who accompanied her to Parliament, was irked by the arrangement. “We waited for over 15 minutes and were late to Parliament. It was just inconvenient,” said Santosh Kumar, Tarai’s husband. Two other MPs who did not mind taking the low-floor AC buses were AAP MPs Bhagwant Mann and Professor Sadhu Singh. Mann, Lok Sabha MP from Sangrur, said lawmakers need to understand that this is not just the AAP’s bus. “This bus is for a social cause and they should not consider it a government bus. I carpooled in the morning. We picked up a BJP MLA from his residence in another part of the city. Now it’s lunch hour, so I took this DTC bus back,” said Mann. On why the effort has not gone done well with his colleagues, he said, “VIP culture mind hai naa (They have a VIP culture mindset). Why should we be exempted?” Singh, Lok Sabha MP from Faridkot, took the bus to his residence in South Avenue. “The buses should be increased as attendance today was low but will soar from Tuesday. However, I believe the effort is commendable,” he said. Meanwhile, Transport Minister Gopal Rai said, “Keeping in view today’s experience and following consultations with officials concerned in both Houses of Parliament, it has been decided that two buses will be retained as shuttles for MPs and the remaining four will be sent back to the DTC fleet from Tuesday morning.” WATCH INDIAN EXPRESS VIDEOS HERE
