Delhi 'killer buses' back to work

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Private bus firms in India's capital, Delhi, have resumed services after a one-day strike in protest at police checks on their drivers and vehicles.

Thousands of commuters faced disruption because of the strike, and the authorities threatened tough action.

Blueline buses - so-called because of the colour they are painted - are blamed for the deaths of 96 people in a series of fatal accidents this year.

The bus operators say many accidents are caused by other road users.

Bus lanes

More than 3,000 of Delhi's 10,000-odd buses belong to the Blueline fleet. They ferry thousands of commuters every day.

Police in Delhi say they have stepped up checks on the Blueline fleet and seized a number of buses for flouting safety rules, including tampering with speed control devices.

The fleet operators decided to strike on Monday in protest at the police action.

A spokesman for the operators said the fleet could not alone be held responsible for the fatal accidents.

He said motorists, cyclists and auto-rickshaw drivers also flouted traffic rules and drove into lanes meant for buses. This, he said, led to many of the accidents.

Incensed by the spate of accidents involving the fleet, the Delhi high court has ordered the authorities to provide details of who owns the buses.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government says it will purchase 4,500 new buses to bolster the state-run fleet of nearly 4,000 vehicles.

Dangerous roads

Most commuters are still dependent on buses for their daily travel in Delhi, a city of 15 million people, despite an expanding Metro railway system.

India's roads have an awful reputation for accidents.

More than 70,000 people are killed every year. In Delhi alone, more than 2,000 people die on the roads annually.

One reason, experts say, is that there are too many vehicles on Delhi's roads - the city has 5.5 million vehicles and 600 new ones are added every single day.

The other, more important, reason is the lack of basic driving skills and utter disregard for all traffic rules.