The turnaround time of buses at all three inter-state bus terminals (ISBTs) of the Capital has reduced after parking rates for both government and private buses were made equal and a FASTag-based system was introduced to streamline parking and fee collection, Lieutenant Governor (L-G) V K Saxena’s office said on Saturday.
The L-G, earlier this month, had sought equal parking rates for government as well as private buses and a reduction in parking time to achieve higher turnaround – the time taken to enter and exit the bus terminal. He had also sought that only buses with FASTag stickers be allowed to enter ISBTs to ensure complete tracking without human interface. These measures came into effect on September 15 via a notification.
“Following L-G V K Saxena’s visit and inspection of Maharana Pratap (Kashmere Gate) ISBT on August 31 and a subsequent high-level meeting chaired by the L-G and attended by Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, it was decided that the transport department will notify new rates and norms,” an official from L-G office said.
Since September 15, private and government interstate buses have been paying the same rate for parking and using the bus bays at ISBTs. “Before September 15, private buses were charged more, which led to a situation where they unauthorisedly parked and picked passengers on roads outside ISBTs, resulting in traffic snarls… the state-run buses also lost passengers and revenue,” the official added.
Applicable to all buses plying from the three ISBTs, the revised rates are being collected only through the FASTag-based system. No bus is allowed to enter and operate from the terminals without a FASTag.
At Anand Vihar ISBT, officials said, the average turnaround time that stood at 208 minutes in August, came down to 24 minutes on September 15 and further decreased to 22 minutes on the 19th. According to the data compiled till September 26, the average turnaround time for buses at the ISBT is 23 minutes. Bus traffic has also increased from an average of 852 per day in August to 870 after the changes were implemented, it said.
At ISBT Kashmere Gate, the average turnaround time which stood at 45 minutes in August, has come down to 29 minutes on September 15. Since September 21, it has been averaging at 19 minutes. The ISBT also saw daily bus numbers soaring from an average of 1,373 in August to 1,644 since September 15.
The Sarai Kale Khan ISBT recorded a drop in turnaround time from 216 minutes in August to an average of 18 minutes since the notification was issued. The bus traffic at the terminal, which stood at an average of 268 daily in August, rose substantially to 241 per day after September 15.
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