New Delhi, Nov 21 (PTI) Around 550 buses hired by the Delhi government from private operators will start plying on the city roads under "Paryawaran Sewa" from Monday, in a bid to help people switch from using private vehicles to public transport in view of the alarming air quality in the national capital, officials said.

The Delhi government recently decided to hire 1,000 CNG buses from private operators.

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"So far, over 750 buses have been registered, of which nearly 550 will be pressed into service under Paryawaran Sewa from Monday on different routes. These buses will augment public transport by increasing the frequency on various routes with a high passenger load," a transport department officer said.

The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and the Cluster scheme of the DIMTS run around 7,000 buses in the city, although official estimates put the requirement in accordance with the current demand to over 11,000 buses.

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The buses hired from the private operators will encourage people using their own vehicles to opt for public transport, officials said.

In view of the alarming levels of air pollution in the city, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Saturday allowed standing passengers in buses and metro.

Buses and metro services were allowed to run with a full seating capacity last month, but standing passengers were not allowed to avoid overcrowding in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)