Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot conducts on ground inspection of bus queue shelters and bus lanes.
New Delhi: Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Tuesday undertook a combined inspection of bus lanes and Bus Queue Shelters (BQS) in various parts of Southwest Delhi along with senior officials of Transport Department, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS), Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (DTIDC), Public Works Department (PWD), and enforcement staff on ground. The enforcement drive has currently reached 67th day & 10th week of its implementation and has been receiving a good response and feedback from bus commuters and citizens.
During the inspection, Gahlot directed the Transport Department officials to ensure clearance of bus lanes occupied by unauthorized parking of private vehicles near the Mahipalpur crossing through awareness and continuous monitoring with support of bus marshals. During the inspection, he also visited Dhaula Kuan and Lajwanti Chowk on the outer ring road. There were various reports of unauthorized parking of private vehicles in this area which had been causing severe jam and obstruction to movement of buses.
He directed the transport department enforcement team to ensure clearance of bus lanes to ensure seamless traffic movement. Senior officials from DTIDC were also part of the inspection where all major Bus Queue Shelters in the stretch were also being monitored. DTIDC builds, manages and maintains all major Bus queue shelters in Delhi except NDMC areas. Bus Shri Gahlot also directed DTIDC officials to ensure maintenance and repair of all Bus Queue Shelters (BQS) across different parts of Delhi for maximum passenger convenience.
Delhi government had started an intensive enforcement drive for buses and goods carriage vehicles on April 1 to enhance road safety, reduce congestion and improve the overall bus system to enable higher passenger loads and improved trip services. During the ongoing enforcement drive, the entire city DTC and cluster buses have been plying on designated bus lanes and halting only at the bus stops designated for the purpose. No other vehicles have been allowed to stop/park in the bus lanes. However, auto-rickshaws, taxies, three-wheeled goods and all private vehicles have been allowed to pick and drop passengers at points about 75 meters ahead of designated bus queue shelters (BQS). Any parking in the bus lanes by such vehicles will be deemed a violation of permit conditions/rules framed under the Motor Vehicle Act (MVA), 1988 as applicable.
The Transport Department has also been monitoring and prosecuting the defaulters of the bus lane enforcement rules under various provisions of Motor Vehicle Act, 1988. As of 06.06.2022, a total of 28086 challans have been issued by the Transport department. These include 1007 challans to bus drivers for bus lane violation and 27079 challans to private vehicles owners for parking in bus lanes. A total of 419 vehicles have also been lifted/towed for improper parking in the bus lane under this initiative. The enforcement staff/teams will continue issuing challans by imposing fine/penalty under the relevant provisions/rules in violations of the Bus Lane Discipline.
