Blueline to go off roads in Delhi by Dec 14

In a bid to hasten the process to get rid of the killer Blueline buses, Delhi Transport Minister Arvinder Singh has advanced to December 14 the deadline for phasing out the 2,400-strong fleet.

The new deadline is much ahead of the original deadline of February 2012.

Singh told reporters on Monday that incidence of road rage was minimal when Bluelines were off the road in all parts of the city, except in outer Delhi and rural areas during the Commonwealth Games.

But, within days of the buses resuming service, a Blueline killed yet another Delhiite.

“When I became the Transport Minister in 2008, there were about 3,000 Blueline buses on the road. Now our own DTC fleet is 6,500- strong, so we can afford to do away with them. Moreover the Metro network has also widened. By November one, the first of our bus clusters would come into existence,” Singh said.

The subject of Bluelines buses is still in court and the Delhi Government, which has been under pressure from the judiciary to provide a safer means of public transport, has sought a four-month extension.