Delhi govt to operate premium intercity buses on NCR routes

In an official statement, DTC stated that the board approved providing free charging facilities in DTC depots in order to encourage the use of e-two-wheelers by its employees in the city, according to the news agency ANI.

DTC had been planning to introduce high-quality premium buses on longer routes. The board approved the same to be implemented on NCR routes under 200 kms which may include Electric or CNG buses. DTC will be operating Bharat Stage (BS) VI buses for routes covering more than 200 kms. 

All the buses will be equipped with CCTV, GPS, panic buttons and more, providing convenient and safer travel for long-distance commuters, as per ANI reports. 

“Under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi government has been at the forefront of providing the best services for its employees and citizens of Delhi. While new premium buses under DTC will provide convenience for longer journey commuters, the free EV charging facilities and benefit of 03 national holidays to contractual employees shows our commitment to providing the best facilities and services for our staff and employees,” Transport Minister of Delhi and Chairman of DTC board Kailash Gahlot said. 

In the meeting, the DTC board also discussed and approved providing free charging facilities for all its employees having electric vehicles. 

Delhi government is already providing a purchase incentive of ₹5,000 per kWh of battery capacity with a maximum incentive of ₹30,000 per vehicle(two-wheeler).

Currently, DTC has a workforce of nearly 38,000 employees across the city working at the Depots and Corporate office. A survey was conducted among the employees of DTC and it was found that 45% of the staff was using two-wheelers to reach the office. 

Additionally, DTC employees who do not have enough funds to purchase electric two-wheeler may avail of loan facilities from financial institutes empaneled by Delhi Finance Corporation (DFC), as per provision of the Delhi EV policy, 2020, ANI reported. 

To make the complete process hassle-free for the employees, the DTC board approved the provision for the instalment of the loan amount to be deducted directly from the salary of the employee.

Another important decision was taken on extending the benefit of three National holidays (26th January, 15th August and 2nd October) to the contractual employees of DTC. This comes after the recommendation from the committee constituted in June 2022. 

The committee recommended that DTC pays 1.5 times of basic pay and D.A. to regular employees (Traffic staff) if they perform duty on Gazetted Holiday. Accordingly, contractual employees are also entitled to benefits of National holidays at par with the regular employees. 

(With ANI inputs)