A premium bus aggregator scheme to encourage middle class and upper middle class passengers to switch to public transport was announced by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday.

“To encourage people to use public transport, aggregators of AC luxury buses will be given licenses to operate buses in the city. No standing passengers will be allowed on these buses. Bus seats can be reserved only using app and digital payments,” he said at a news conference here.

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He said the scheme will be notified following Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena’s approval.

“When the metro started in Delhi, there were many people who stopped using their private vehicles and started using the metro. But as the metro trains started getting crowded, they again went back to using their own cars and scooters… This leads to more pollution and traffic in Delhi,” Kejriwal said.

Generally, people from the lower middle class and economy classes travel in buses, but with this scheme, people from the middle class and upper middle class will also opt for public transport, he said.

Under the new premium bus scheme, the aggregators who take licenses will have to run air-conditioned buses with not less than nine seats. In these buses, standing will not be allowed. The buses will have WiFi, CCTV, and GPS facilities. Only digital bookings and payments will be allowed.

Kejriwal said the Delhi government aims to lower traffic on roads and air pollution with this step.

The aggregators will be required to maintain a fleet of 25 buses, and from January 2025, all buses will have to be electric.

Under this new premium scheme, the routes for these buses will be decided based on the market demand and the aggregators will just have to inform the transport department of the routes they decide to add.

“License holders will need to maintain a fleet of 25 buses. After one-and-a-half years, only electric buses can be introduced in the fleet. Routes are to be determined by the bus operator. Bus charges should be higher than the peak fare of DTC buses. I am sending the scheme proposal to the LG for approval,” the chief minister said.

He said the fares will be dynamic and not less than the peak fare of DTC air-conditioned buses. These buses will not compete with DTC buses.

Kejriwal further said the Centre’s amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA) in 2019 has facilitated the scheme the AAP government has been trying to bring in since 2016.