They will be removed.

[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]

Till the 80s, the only city buses to rule Delhi’s roads were run by Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). In 1992, the bus service was privatised and Redline buses were introduced. After these private buses ran over many pedestrians, they were painted blue. But they turned out to be deadlier – Bluelines killed 1,072 people in the last decade, with year 2005 being the worst with 175 deaths. The buses became infamous for rash driving, and for never actually really stopping at bus stops.

In November 2007, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit flagged off the first 12 green low-floor CNG buses on Rajpath. She also took a round in the new red-coloured air-conditioned bus.

Today, Delhi has 4,000 low floor buses and 2,400 Bluelines. The Bluelines were removed temporarily during the Commonwealth Games. At present, only 800 are on the road. They will be phased out by December 14, 2010, according to transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely. Around 8,000 people earn their livelihood from Bluelines.

Going soon

We won’t miss you

The world as seen from a Blueline

No window

No seat for the mother

Talking to girl friend?

Where’s the crowd?

Shh, Mummy is sleeping

Blueline view

Blueline spotting

Blueline adventurers

Blueline muggles

Blueline portrait

Blueline rarely stops

McBlueline

Death by Blueline

Happy journey

Bye bye, Blueline

No tears for you, Blueline

Don’t come again