Delhi government may soon announce app-based bus service

On the lines of app-based cab operators, the Delhi government may soon announce app-based bus service to strengthen public transport in the national capital. Contract carriage buses plying across the city will come under the ambit of the app-based service which may be announced next week. A senior government official said that the private contract carriage buses will be given “special permit” to ferry passengers through a mobile application. “The routes of these buses will also be prepared by the transport department. Office goers at large will be beneficiaries,” the official said. He further said that with this app service, passengers will be able to locate buses going towards their destinations and board the vehicles with normal fares to be fixed by the government. The city’s private bus operators have welcomed the move and said that they are ready to buy new private buses for this service if the government wants us to do the same. On Thursday, the AAP government decided to launch a three-month pilot project for free Wi-Fi at markets. The government will launch the service at Sant Nagar Market area in north Delhi’s Burari on March 15 and users will be able to download 50MB data every day free of cost. Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC), an advisory body of the AAP government, has roped in a local vendor of Sant Nagar Market for providing the facility. PTI