Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has tightened enforcement against speeding, mobile phone use, skipped stops and unsafe bus movement after accidents were reported on two consecutive days, warning operators and drivers that further lapses could lead to action.
The corporation said drivers found exceeding prescribed speed limits would face fines. Using a mobile phone while driving is prohibited, and drivers found violating the rule during inspections would also be subject to action. DTC has not specified the revised fine amounts in the report.
The latest measures follow complaints that some accidents were linked to driver negligence and the pressure to complete assigned kilometres quickly. DTC said several incidents occur at bus terminals, stops and depots when stationary buses are being moved again. Drivers have therefore been instructed to check that no person is beneath or near the vehicle in a position that could result in injury before moving it.
To address complaints about buses failing to stop, DTC has begun surprise inspections at 50 bus stops every day this month. If an inspection confirms that a bus did not stop at the designated point, both the driver and the bus operator will face a fine, according to the corporation.
DTC has also laid down separate consequences for drivers involved in serious accidents. A driver involved in a serious crash is removed from duty until the inquiry is completed. In the case of a fatal accident, the driver is removed immediately. If the inquiry finds the driver responsible, DTC may permanently bar that person from driving any DTC bus.
The corporation said every driver must complete training at the DTC training school and pass a medical examination before driving a bus. Each driver is also registered in the Bus Management System, or BMS. The system is intended to prevent a driver from being assigned double duty or being replaced during a duty period, measures DTC said could help reduce accidents linked to fatigue.
The enforcement plan places responsibility on both individual drivers and the companies operating buses. It also extends safety monitoring beyond roads to terminals, depots and bus stops, where passenger movement and vehicle manoeuvres create separate risks.
The action comes after a reported DTC bus collision in Delhi’s Anand Parbat area in which one person died and several others were injured. The report also refers to a separate plan to make DTC buses more technology-enabled, with an artificial-intelligence system being prepared by IIT Kanpur to determine routes and timings. That system is mentioned as a related development, but no implementation timeline is provided in the supplied report.
DTC’s immediate measures are the daily stop inspections, speed and mobile-phone enforcement, driver training and medical checks, and the removal of drivers involved in serious or fatal accidents pending or completing inquiries.
