By IANS
New Delhi : Delhi's private Blueline commuter buses, dubbed 'killer buses' because of their frequent involvement in fatal road accidents, will be reined in by a new "special draft policy" and may be impounded for over speeding.
Stung by strong public reaction to the latest accident involving a Blueline bus that killed a schoolboy and injured seven others in a major accident Sunday afternoon, the Delhi government Tuesday said it would introduce 5,000 new buses by 2010.
"We will bring a draft policy within three weeks for the proper management of Blueline buses. Instead of several associations, all the private buses would be brought under a cooperative body so that it will become easier for the government to negotiate with them," Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf told reporters.
In the last three years, the capital recorded 488 bus-related deaths, with Bluelines contributing over 90 percent.
Clarifying Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's statement that Blueline buses would be phased out, Yusuf said those buses which had been operated for 10 years would be phased out.
After a meeting with Blueline bus operators, he said he had asked Delhi Police to take strong action against errant bus drivers.
"We have asked Delhi Police to punch the licenses of drivers found guilty of breaking traffic rules," he said.
He said police have been directed to arrest unauthorised drivers as soon as they detect them.
In the last six months, police have cancelled the permits of nearly 70 Blueline buses.
About introduction of 5,000 new buses, the minister said they would be high capacity low-floor buses and fitted with GPS system.
Earlier in the day, Dikshit said that her government was planning to "phase out Blueline buses from the capital".
She said her government was getting ready to increase the number of high-capacity low-floor buses, which are running only on two routes. There are over 3,500 Blueline buses in the capital.
Yusuf Tuesday visited the family of 13-year-old Morick, who was crushed under a Blueline on Sunday, and assured them that strong action would be taken against the driver of the bus.
Morick was riding pillion on his father's scooter along with his brother in Rajouri Garden when the bus rammed the vehicle from behind, throwing him off. He was crushed under the bus wheels.
His father and brother sustained minor injuries. He was a Class 5 student of S.M. Jain Montessori School in north Delhi. Jaswinder Singh, the bus driver was arrested Monday.
There are around 51,000 cases registered against Blueline buses for breaking traffic rules.
Delhi has over 4.7 million registered vehicles – more than in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai put together. An average of four people die everyday in the national capital due to road accidents.