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
