Fleet utilisation of DTC buses during Prez Rule below national average

In its report, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has found that DTC buses of the Delhi government carried only 21.30 per cent of the total passengers in the city in 2014-15. The share of DTC in carrying passengers in the previous year was 26.75 per cent. The auditor has also suggested diverting low-floor AC buses from NCR routes to city routes as less passengers use them on those routes.

“The percentage of passengers in comparison to total seats for AC low-floor buses on NCR routes was only 34.41 per cent to 56 per cent while on city routes it was 55.25 per cent to 99.39 per cent. This means more people use low-floor AC buses on city routes,” CAG observed. 

The government officials, however, defended their decision in the name of social obligation.  The CAG report, based on the period of the President’s Rule in the city, also indicates that the fleet utilisation of DTC buses has been below national average. The report also indicates several deficiencies in DTC bus fleet which reveals the status of ageing bus fleet of the state public carrier and highlights need of purchasing news buses. 

“The fleet utilisation of the corporation buses was 84.1 per cent in 2014-15 which was 91.2 per cent at all India level for other states,” said the report. The fleet utilisation in Delhi has constantly been below the national average as lowest being in 2010-11 at 75 percent but rose to 85.77 per cent in 2012-13 due to introduction of new buses in a phased manner. However, it went on to decrease at 85.51 per cent in 2013-14. 

Fleet utilisation represents percentage of buses on roads in comparison to the total buses of DTC. The report also indicates that the number of buses is more in the morning hours but less in the evening hours which is probability due to large scale of breakdown. The average distance covered by each bus was only 188 km per day which was 202 km per day in 2012-12. Furthermore, the distance covered by each bus in Delhi was less than Bangalore’s 224.8 km per day and Chennai’s 316.3 km per day. The report also slammed the DTC for not able to purchase DTC buses despite availability of funds. CAG also observed that no concrete measures were taken to enhance the fleet utilisation. “The main reason contributing to low fleet utilisation included ageing old fleet, breakdowns and delay in getting motor vehicle inspection certificates,” observed the national auditor. CAG has also flayed DTC for poor route planning, missing scheduled kilometers, non installation of GPS and failure to provide automated fare collection system.