New Delhi [India], September 8 (ANI): Following Delhi LG, VK Saxena’s visit and inspection of Maharana Pratap ISBT and a subsequent high-level meeting chaired by the LG and attended by Delhi Transport Minister, Kailash Gahlot, the Transport Department is all set to notify new rates and norms for ‘to and fro’ inter-state buses utilising the iconic bus terminals.
Emphasizing that efficiency and equality are the two most important factors to achieve optimum utilization of facilities, LG suggested equal parking rates for government as well as private buses and also reducing parking time equally to achieve higher turnaround.
He also asked for only buses with Fastag stickers to be allowed to enter ISBT, to ensure complete tracking without human interface.
Once notified, the new norms will ensure efficiency in the functioning and operation of the ISBTs and enable the facility to function to its optimum capacity of 3000 buses per day as against 1700 per day.
This underutilisation is because of rate differences between government and private buses, poor management of parking bays, bus staff using terminals as resting places and systemic issues like staggered circulation due to extended turnaround time, which inturn leads up to traffic gridlock outside the ISBT.
Further, the ISBT stand fee charges shall be collected only through a FASTag-based system. No bus shall be allowed to enter and operate from ISBTs (Kashmere Gate, Anand Vihar, Sarai Kale Khan) without FASTag.
The LG who has been reviewing traffic and transport issues along with senior officials of the Delhi Police & Transport Department on a weekly basis since the beginning of August, inspected the Maharana Pratap ISBT at Kashmere Gate and took stock of the passenger amenities & operational processes of buses from the terminal on 31.08.24.
He had found the deteriorating infrastructure & amenities at the ISBT which cater to nearly 3,000 buses a day to be worrisome and posted his concerns on “X”.
As per the new scheme of things, private as well as government interstate buses will be paying the same amount of fee for parking and using the bus bays at ISBT. As of now, private buses are charged more, which leads to a situation where they unauthorisedly park and pick passengers on roads outside the ISBT complex, resulting in huge traffic snarls apart from causing passenger/revenue loss to state-run buses.
Apart from this, in another significant move, a system of differential parking/utilization charges based on time is also set to be notified to reduce the turnaround time of buses coming into and leaving from the ISBTs.
This apart from reducing the waiting time for passengers, will also ensure that buses circulate at a faster pace, traffic- pedestrian as well as motorised outside the ISBT moves faster and more revenue is generated for the transport department.
Buses will be provided with a fixed parking time slot of 25 minutes at a fixed rate and thereafter for a delay of every 5-minute stay, they will be charged proportionately extra. Enforcement and Implementation of the same will be ensured vide the Fastags on the buses.
Buses without Fastags will not be permitted inside the terminal and a facility will be provided outside the terminal complex where a bus without the Fastag can pay and get the Fastag before entering.
He had directed the Transport department for a complete makeover of the terminal & to reduce the turnaround time of inter-state buses from the existing 45-60 minutes to 30 minutes for faster circulation and improved handling of buses.
With the new notification, reduced turnaround time, faster circulation and improved handling of buses will be achieved.
This, in turn, will result in the decongestion of the arterial ring road and road from ISBT towards Tees Hazari and would significantly improve traffic flow in a large part of Central Delhi including Civil Lines, Tees Hazari, St Stephens Hospital, Sadar Bazar, Pul Bangash, Sabzi Mandi & Azad Market, apart from the Ring Road.
The next step in this direction will be to improve the sanitation and infrastructure in and around the ISBT complex. (ANI)
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