WhatsApp group helps transport dept, traffic police tackle Delhi's bus breakdown problem

New Delhi: To deal with frequent bus breakdowns that choke traffic, the Delhi Traffic Police and the transport department have created a WhatsApp group for swift removal of the stranded vehicles.

With 70 officials on board, the group attempts to ensure smooth traffic on any road stretch where a bus breaks down.

Set up in September, the group -- Break Down Management -- is already delivering results with officials noticing that the average time for attending breakdowns declined since its formation.

According to a senior traffic police officer who is a member of this group, if a bus broke down earlier, the process of locating it and sending a mechanic for repairs would take hours.

It was mandatory that the mechanics were from the same depot as the bus. This caused delays in the mechanic reaching the breakdown spot if it was far from the depot.

After the WhatsApp group was formed, the transport department changed its strategy and started sending help from the depot nearest to the breakdown spot.

Once the repair work is done, the official concerned updates the status of breakdown in the group.

"With this group, it becomes easier for us to identify and locate the place of breakdown. Our ground staff immediately alerts us and we put a photo of the bus with the driver's contact on the group," a traffic assistant commissioner of police who is also a member of this group said.

The depot managers who are members of the group get to know about the breakdown and the one closest to the spot immediately sends help.

The traffic personnel concerned regulate traffic till the bus gets repaired or removed by the transport department.

Once the work is done, it is also updated on the group, the traffic police officer said.

Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ajay Chaudhary said the cooperation between the two departments led to fruitful results, with the average time for locating the bus and reaching the spot coming down.

"We are committed to streamline the system and provide hassle-free transportation," he said.

The group includes all depot managers, service providers, traffic police assistant commissioners, deputy commissioners, transport commissioner and other senior transport department members.

PTI had earlier reported, citing data from the Delhi Traffic Police, that 79 Delhi Transport Corporation or cluster buses broke down every day between July 2022 and June 2023.

The data showed that incidents of bus breakdowns had risen steadily. A total of 809 breakdowns were reported in July 2022. The figures for October, November and December stood at 977, 1,192 and 2,132, respectively.

In 2023, the number went up dramatically -- January saw 3,029 breakdowns while the figures stood at 3,296, 5,309, 4,476, 3,613 and 3,145 for February, March, April, May and June, respectively.

Explaining the reasons for the frequent breakdowns, former deputy transport commissioner Anil Chhikara said CNG-run buses were prone to overheating in engines, short circuits and other issues that affected vehicles with age.

The Delhi Transport Corporation has a fleet of 7,582 buses. Of these, 2,644 were procured by the state-owned public transporter between 2007 and 2010.