Delhiites will soon be able to book a seat on an air-conditioned luxury bus through their smartphones as chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday approved a premium bus aggregator scheme.

Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said the file has now been sent to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena for his approval. "The scheme will be implemented within 90 days of its approval by the LG,” he said, and claimed that Delhi will be the first city in the country to introduce a premium bus aggregator scheme.

The scheme is aimed at encouraging people from the middle and upper-middle classes to opt for public transport in Delhi.

"When the Delhi Metro started its operation, many Delhiites stopped using their personal vehicles and switched to the metro for transportation. Gradually, the Delhi Metro became crowded, so people again started using their own vehicles.

"The DTC buses aren't very crowded after we increased their numbers. But in these buses, mostly people belonging to the lower middle class and low income group travel," Kejriwal said. Under the scheme, bus aggregators will be granted licences, he said, adding that one licence holder could bring in 25 luxury buses on the roads of Delhi. The luxury buses would be equipped with the facilities such as AC, Wi-Fi, GPS, and CCTV cameras.

"Individuals can book their seats on the app just like airline seats. The facility of 'on-the-bus booking' will not be there. Passengers will be picked up from their desired location and the buses won't stop frequently. ," the chief minister said.

Kejriwal said that this will encourage many Delhiites to opt for these buses which will subsequently strengthen Delhi's transport system and reduce traffic and air pollution. "Under the scheme, CNG buses older than three years won't be allowed, and only electric buses will be inducted after January 1, 2025. There won't be any licence fee for the new electric buses as a token of encouragement for such buses," he added.

Only the aggregators will decide the routes of the bus service as per viability. However, the route finalised by the operator must be intimated to the department concerned of the Delhi government, he stressed. CM Kejriwal stated that the fares of these buses would be dynamic.

"The bus operators can charge the fare as per their needs but with one condition, that is, the fare will not be less than the maximum fare of DTC's AC buses. This means that these luxury buses will not be competing with the DTC buses," he added.

Speaking about the hurdles faced by the Delhi government in formulating the scheme, he said that the government had taken the preliminary step towards formulating the policy in 2016. The chief minister explained that between 2017 and 2019, the Transport Department objected to the scheme saying it could not be implemented under the current Motor Vehicles Act.

"In August 2019, the Union government amended the Motor Vehicles Act, allowing the bus aggregator scheme to be introduced. After the COVID-19 pandemic, we drafted the scheme again in 2022. It was uploaded on government website for public suggestions on August 18, 2022. On May 25, the LG approved the draft of the scheme and it was put up for people's comments again on May 29," he said.

Following the comments received by the public and the stakeholder consultation conducted by the Transport Department on July 27, the LG approved the draft with some minor changes.

“Considering these changes, I have given my approval to this scheme today. It is now being sent to the LG sir. I hope that LG will approve it soon,” said Kejriwal.

"Delhiites will now have access to world-class transportation services, and pollution will decrease as well,” he said.

Under this scheme, he said, the aggregators who take licences will have to ply AC premium buses with not less than nine seats.

The bus aggregators applying for licences should have a minimum experience of three years of operating/managing vehicles in public transportation along with requirement like maintaining a fleet of minimum 100-passenger buses each year or fleet of minimum 1,000 passenger cars each year or mixed fleet of passenger cars and buses with minimum fleet of 100 buses where 10 cars are equal to one bus. The licence fee will be fixed at Rs 5 lakh and valid for five years, which can be renewed for a period of another five years before the expiry on payment of Rs 2,500.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.