The Delhi Transport Corporation has stopped providing buses to schools in the city from the new academic session in view of the increasing demand for its fleet for public transport here. Officials gave this information on Wednesday.
Senior officials of the transport department and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) took the decision considering the need for more buses for passengers, a senior transport department official said, adding that the schools were informed in advance.
“DTC is providing over 350 of its buses to schools to transport children. Now, buses have been withdrawn and only 8-10 buses have been provided to some schools in view of transport facility for specially-abled children,” the official said.
The official said the government is trying to increase the deployment of more DTC and cluster buses to fill the gap, but the focus is always on providing adequate number of buses for public transport. The DTC had in September last year written to the schools and the Delhi Police expressing their inability to provide buses for their needs. However, it continued to provide buses to police and paramilitary forces for deployment in security as an emergency service.
Delhi currently has over 7,200 public transport buses, including 3,912 operated by DTC and 3,293 cluster buses operated by Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System (DIMTS). According to official estimates, the city needs 11,000 buses to meet its public transport needs. Officials said schools were again informed about the lack of buses in January and urged them to make alternative arrangements for transportation needs.
The decision to withdraw the buses was opposed by schools and parents. The schools had also challenged this in the Delhi High Court which questioned the DTC’s decision. Officials said the government had cited the need for public transport because of its inability to provide buses to schools.
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