There's no way out of this mess. With the Delhi government stepping up efforts to clear out as many as 1,800 Blueline buses from Delhi roads, read NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Corporation) routes, starting September 15, commuters will indeed find themselves stranded with the DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation) promising only 500 new buses.

The corporation, which is running 5,500 buses currently may have to face a riotous population of bus-riders given the shortfall of as many as 1,300 buses, a DTC official admitted. With the order for the phase-out having come very late, DTC is not in a position to acquire more buses than previoulsy ordered.

The only option could just be reducing the frequency of buses, says the official. Routes that got buses every 30 minutes will now have buses plying every hour. In those that buses every 10 minutes, each bus will be spaced 20 minutes after its predecessor.

However, the routes which have higher demand will be taken into consideration and the corporation will try to provide better services there, added the officer.

The athletes, the OC members and the other VIPs will certainly not face any inconvenience as air-conditioned buses are being arranged for them. But the hardest hit will be the public.