Delhi still appears to be in lockdown mode as public transport finds few takers

NEW DELHI: After almost two months of standstill, Delhi government allowed all modes of transport, except Delhi Metro, in the city on Tuesday. However, citizens did not appear too enthusiastic to come out of the lockdown mode. TOI travelled to different parts of the city, including the major transit hubs, from 7am to 1pm and noted that there were fewer than regular commuters during the morning rush hour.
The orange Cluster Scheme buses joined Delhi Transport Corporation buses that have already been operating ‘special hire’ services for hospital staff and security personnel.Of their cumulative fleet of 6,500 buses, only 2,000 were on roads on Tuesday. Apart from special hire buses, 1,400 were reserved for taking migrants to railway station. But despite the fewer buses and strict adherence to the rule disallowing more than 20 passengers per bus, there was no crowding at bus stops.
The people waited patiently to board the buses, though there was no thermal screening of passengers, as had been announced by Delhi government on Monday. The vehicles were disinfected and passengers were asked to sit on alternate seats, with stickers marking the seats to be left vacant. Similar scenes played out in the normally busy areas of Laxmi Nagar, ITO, Connaught Place, Central Secretariat, Delhi Gate, AIIMS, Hauz Khas, Saket, Ambedkar Nagar, Kalkaji, Nehru Place and INA Market.
At the Shakarpur Crossing bus shelter in east Delhi, Dinesh Chand, 36, awaited a bus on route 623. “I couldn’t get on two because of the 20-passenger restriction,” he grumbled. “Most people here are those who have been going to work for about a week. The frequency of buses is low. When more people need to travel, there will be chaos.”
The government said that more buses would start running when drivers residing in neighbouring states were able to report for work. Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot explained that the deployment of Civil Defence personnel in work related to helping migrant workers was why not many of them could be posted at the bus stops to assist operations on Tuesday. “Our Home Guard personnel are in the buses,” said Gahlot. “I appeal to people to cooperate and follow protocols like wearing masks at all times.”
While the full complement of public transport buses was not on the streets, the marshals that Delhi government had promised at the busier bus shelters were missing. “I had read there would be marshals at bus stops and inside buses, but there’s no one here, neither in many other buses,” pointed out Rohit Chandolia, 27, as he waited for a bus near Adhchini Mor. “Besides, the buses should have hand sanitisers for commuters too.”
Addressing this concern, Gahlot said later on Teusday that the government would provide hand sanitisers in buses and carry out thermal screening of passengers.
In six hours, TOI detected only one marshal, at the Dilshad Garden J&K Block bus stop, stretching his limbs in the absence of commuters. A Home Guard personnel deputed as a bus marshal, said, “We have to work for 12-14 hours and we Rs 755 as allowance. But we also have to bring our own masks and sanitisers. We don’t have thermal scanners yet to check passengers and are at high risk of getting infected,” Not that the absence of marshal eventually mattered on Tuesday because the fewer travellers meant that social distancing was maintained without the need to enforce it.
Autorickshaws and many app-based taxis could also be seen on the roads after a long time. However, auto drivers attributed the restricting of passenger to a single one for their lack of business during the day. There were some, however, who were merrily flouting the rule and ferrying two, even three, passengers.
Paratransit vehicles like Grameen Sewa and Phat-Phat Sewa were almost completely absent in the city. Drivers said that with the two-passenger rule and low fares, they couldn’t sustain operations. The number of e-rickshaw drivers in residential neighbourhoods was significantly low as Delhi Metro, which provides them last-mile passengers, is still closed.
At the bus stop opposite the New Seemapuri Cluster Scheme depot, there were more buses than commuters. In the pre-lockdown days, this location saw heavy passenger traffic throughout the day. Satish Chaudhary, a Seemapuri resident, was in shorts and bedroom slippers at the roadside, his eyes peeled for a bus on route 33 terminates at Noida. “I don’t have to go to office yet, but I’m checking to see whether buses going towards my office have begun running,” he smiled.