The Transport Department has floated fresh tenders aimed at equipping State-run buses with automatic vehicle tracking systems (AVTS) and CCTV cameras for the safety of the passengers, government officials said.
Aimed at making vehicles, which are operated by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and the Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System (DIMTS) safer, especially for women passengers, the previous tender in this regard, floated last year, had failed due to the unavailability of a suitable number of bidders, officials also said.
“The [Transport] Department has reduced the minimum turnover of bidders from ₹500 crore to ₹200 crore for the last three financial years, for a better response this time,” said a government official.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has directed that all public transport vehicles in the country be equipped with AVTS and emergency buttons by March this year.
“It was in line with this directive that the fresh tender floated was issued last week seeking to equip all 5,500 public transport buses, which include around 3,900 run by the DTC and over 1,600 cluster buses operated by DIMTS with AVTS, CCTV cameras and panic buttons,” the official added.
As per request for the proposal document issued by the Transport Department, the last date of submission of bids for the purpose is February 9. The previous attempt by the department in November saw only two bidders expressing interest. While one of the bidders was rejected on technical grounds, the other was rejected due to lack of availability of competitive rates.
Government sources said that the department might relax some more parameters, including overall experience, in the upcoming tender to allow more firms to participate. The government had approved the installation of CCTVs, AVTS and panic buttons in buses in July 2017, but the initiative is getting delayed due to unavailability of suitable firms, the official further said.
Public buses are also supposed to be fitted with three internet protocol cameras each.