Delhi ISBT Bus Parking: The state government has prepared a new plan to increase the utility of the interstate bus terminal located in Delhi. Its purpose is to increase the efficiency of the terminal and arrange for equal parking charges for private and government buses. Along with this, there is a penalty for increasing the parking time and a ban on the entry of buses inside the terminal without Fastag. 

Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena inspected the Maharana Pratap ISBT at Kashmiri Gate on August 31. After this, he held a high-level meeting, in which Delhi's Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot also participated. 

In the meeting, LG Vinay Saxena asked the Delhi Transport Department to notify new rates and norms for inter-state buses using the prestigious terminal. Delhi has three inter-state bus terminals (ISBTs), including Kashmiri Gate, Anand Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan. 

Parking charges are same for all

An official at Raj Niwas said, "The Lieutenant Governor had suggested uniform parking rates and reduced parking time for government and private buses. He said that as per the new scheme, private and government interstate buses will pay the same parking charges at ISBTs. Till now, private buses have been charged higher fares. 

You will have to pay a fine for stopping the bus for too long

This creates a situation where they have to park the vehicles on the roads outside the ISBT premises, resulting in massive traffic jams, the official said. 

This leads to loss of passenger revenue for state government-run buses. Under the new norms, buses will have to pay a fine of Rs 500 plus GST for parking up to 25 minutes and Rs 50 plus GST for overstaying between 25 minutes and 30 minutes. 

Buses parked for more than 30 minutes or 35 minutes will be fined Rs 200 plus GST. If the time goes beyond 35 minutes and up to 40 minutes, the fine will be Rs 250 plus GST. An official said that the fine applicable for more than 40 minutes will be Rs 300 plus GST, while for more than 45 minutes, the charge will be Rs 350 plus GST per five minutes on an incremental basis.

LG Vinay Saxena has also directed that only buses with 'FASTag' should be allowed to enter the terminal so that proper monitoring can be ensured. He informed that the facility to buy FASTag will be available outside the terminal. He said that after being notified, the terminals will be able to operate at an optimum capacity of 3,000 buses as against the current 1,700.  

An official said that with the new notification, the turnaround time of buses will be reduced, their operation will be faster. As a result, congestion on the roads will be reduced. This will make it possible to improve cleanliness and infrastructure in and around the ISBT complex.