Following the December 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case, the plying of private buses in Delhi has been banned and many have raised concerns regarding the same. (Representational Image) Following the December 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case, the plying of private buses in Delhi has been banned and many have raised concerns regarding the same. (Representational Image)

The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi has started cracking down on app-based aggregator Shuttl for ‘illegally’ plying buses in the city, DNA reported. Earlier this year, Shuttl landed former transport minister Gopal Rai in a controversy after it was alleged that Rai was reportedly favouring the aggregator.

Following the December 2012 gangrape case, the plying of private buses in Delhi has been banned and many have raised concerns regarding the same. Earlier the Ministry of Home Affairs had directed the Delhi government to ensure a shut down on ‘illegal’ private buses in the city, in order to ensure safety of women. Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal had also directed Delhi government’s transport department to impound the “illegally-run” private carriers.

Following the LG’s order, the transport department’s enforcement team last week impounded 10 buses by Gurgaon-based Shuttl for alleged permit violations.

“After the L-G’s directions, we have impounded over 100 buses engaged by the app-based aggregator in the last six months. These buses are contract carriers and cannot act as stage carriers to pick up individual passengers as it leads to safety concerns, besides congestion and pollution,” a senior official was quoted as saying by DNA. He added that interstate buses cannot stage as carriers in Delhi, since most Shuttl’s buses are from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

“These buses would issue online tickets on their app while picking up passengers from various routes. The contract-carrier buses are not authorised to pick and drop individual passengers or even define their own routes. These buses would start from Rohini and would ply on set routes, which is a major violation of the Motor Vehicles Act,” the official added.

Delhi government officials claim that they have written to the respective state governments in this regards and asked them to cancel the permits of the buses; but have reportedly received no response. This year, 1,147 buses have been impounded by the transport department for illegally plying in the city. Out of these, 1,105 were interstate diesel-run buses.

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