DTC buses to face stricter vigil now

Thursday, Jan 20, 2011




After dealing with problems related to vehicles with tinted glass and beacons, Delhi traffic police have now come down heavily on buses run by the Delhi Transport Corporation. The traffic department has asked its men to keep a strict vigil on all Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses that ply on Delhi roads and to deal strictly with violators.

"In the first fortnight of January, we have prosecuted 255 DTC buses and impounded 71 buses found to be flouting traffic norms. Last year, during the first fortnight of January, we had prosecuted 106 buses and impounded three buses," said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

"No DTC bus to be flouting traffic norms will be spared," added Garg.

At present, a total of 6,200 DTC buses ply on Delhi roads.

These include 2,500 standard buses and 3,700 low-floor buses.

During the first week of November 2010, Delhi traffic police had issued a letter to DTC to immediately install speed governors (the device does not allow buses to ply at a speed higher than 40 km per hour) to all the buses, including 574 buses that were given speed-relaxation, as these had been used for Commonwealth Games duty.

The department had also threatened suspension of permit of the buses that ply without speed governors.

"The buses are fitted with speed governors but many of them have been tampered with by the drivers. Drivers tamper with them so that they can overspeed," said a senior traffic police officer.

Naresh Kumar, managing director, DTC, has admitted that there is a trend of tampering with speed governors fitted in buses.

"It is easy to tamper with speed governors in standard buses. But low floor buses are designed in such a way that such tampering is not so easy," said Kumar.

Welcoming the move by the traffic police, Kumar said: "Traffic rules are the same for all. If you are not spared for violating traffic norms, why would DTC buses be spared?"

Original news source http://www.hindustantimes.com/DTC-buses-to-face-stricter-vigil-now/Article1-652379.aspx