Good news for Delhiites! Inter-state buses to resume, public buses to run with full seating capacity in Delhi

Covid-19 Unlock Delhi: In a piece of good news for people in the Delhi-NCR region, especially for those using public transport to commute, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) on Friday allowed inter-state bus services.

News agency PTI, quoting an official, reported that Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal has approved the resumption of inter-state bus services with Covid-19 SOPs in place.

Even though Covid-19 cases have recently spiked in the National Capital, Baijal, who is the chairman of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), has also approved the government’s proposal to raise the number of passengers in buses from 20 to full seating capacity. The service is likely to resume from the next week.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the inter-state bus service in Delhi was stopped in March. The move was aimed to curb the spread of Coronavirus. Though the government has initiated several relaxations after June in order to bring the economy back on track, several services are yet to be resumed fully.

Delhi has three inter-state bus terminals (ISBT)—Anand Vihar, Kashmere Gate, and Sarai Kale Khan. As many as 3,500 buses operate every day from these terminals to states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir. And, all three ISBTs together used to see a footfall of approximately 250,000 people every day before the Coronavirus outbreak.

In a DDMA meeting on October 23, Transport minister Kailash Gahlot requested to raise the number of passengers in DTC and cluster buses. He had sought permission for full seating without any passenger standing on buses, said the official, as reported by PTI.