The Hindu : It will be old bus with better comfort

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 26, 2003

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It will be old bus with better comfort

By Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

NEW DELHI JUNE 25. The fragile nature of the new peace initiative between India and Pakistan has taken its toll on the Delhi-Lahore bus service as the Delhi Transport Corporation is unable to get the auto major, Volvo, to provide buses on `a kilometre contract basis' for the operations, since it could not guarantee continued operations for even a period of three months.

"As each of the luxury buses costs in the vicinity of Rs. 50 lakhs, the service provider wanted a guarantee that they would be used for at least three months. But considering the nature of the relationship, it was not even possible to give an undertaking for three weeks", said an official.

As a result, the DTC is unable to arrange for the Volvo buses despite the Delhi Government declaring on June 3 that these super luxury buses would be contracted just the way they had been by the Rajasthan State Roadways Transport Corporation for running its luxury services.

The scheme appeared viable initially as it was felt that the buses would be available for hire at around Rs. 11 a km plus, the cost of diesel under the `km scheme' would save the DTC an initial investment of around Rs. 1 crore. Also, the DTC would get around Rs. 26,000 a trip from the operations, which would have made the payment of the sum easy.

But, the scheme ran into trouble on account of the guarantee and security considerations. The Delhi Transport Minister, Ajay Maken, said while the auto major would have wanted its own staff to drive the vehicles, the security agencies would prefer reliable Government employees, like the DTC drivers. Moreover, for an early start by July 1, he said, getting security clearances for the private drivers would not be easy.

In view of the problems, Mr. Maken said the DTC has made alternative foolproof arrangements. "The two luxury Ashok Leyland buses which were running on the route earlier have been completely refurbished. For the purpose the manufacturers were involved and they have installed new engines and gear boxes besides sprucing up the interiors and exteriors."

Stating that the exercise had only cost around Rs. 6 lakhs, Mr. Maken said the buses have been made more comfortable than before and they would be ready by July 1. The retrofitted buses would result in substantial savings for the DTC. In the case of Volvo, it would have to shell out more than planned, since each of the buses would do only one trip a week to Lahore — less than 1,100 km. Since the Volvo buses running in Rajasthan get to cover about 600 km daily, they proved more cost-effective there.

However, with the "Sada-e-Sarhad'' buses of the DTC now ready for operations, Mr. Maken is confident that the Corporation would be able to provide the service that symbolises peace and promotes brotherhood in a manner befitting Delhi's and the DTC's image.

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