Over 100 such inter-state buses plying illegally go to a special counter at the STA, which remains open till late in the evening, for `special trips'. An out-station marriage counts as one of these `special trips'. Any bus operator can obtain a temporary permit on genuine grounds by paying Rs 2,000 as regular fees or by calling a bluff and paying up to Rs 4,000.

At 9.35 p.m. on Friday, three buses were parked outside the STA office on Underhill Road DL-1PA-2799 & DL-1PA-1299 from Suraj Travels and DL-1PA-2609 from Vivek Travels. The drivers were `busy' inside the STA compound trying to obtain a `marriage party' permit.

Delhi Transport Commissioner S. Regunathan confirms that the transport department is aware of these illegally operated long-distance buses. ``We have deployed 18 teams on the various routes and have impounded a large number of vehicles in the recent past,'' he says.

Vicky (26), a travel agent for Rao Travels near ISBT, says: ``We have no other option but to pay a bribe everywhere. We have to pay the police Rs 20,000 per month for parking the buses. We have to bribe STA officials for the permits.''

The profit margin, points out another travel agent Roshan Kamal, decreases considerably. ``But it is better to earn something rather than nothing.''

An average of four buses owned by a particular travel agency ply to various destinations in a day. The earnings from passenger fares to a place like Dehra Dun, if all four buses ply, works out to be approximately Rs 7.5 lakh per month.

If the number of passengers in a day does not fit the arithmetic (fuel and maintenance costs, salaries and bribes) of the travel agencies, alternatives like Tata Sumos are offered to the must-go-tonight types.

``It is slightly costlier for the passenger to travel by a Tata Sumo because we charge Rs 300 per passenger for a trip to Dehra Dun. Four persons are seated on the front seat and five on the rear seat. But this is much more convenient for us as there is no need for a permit and there is a good profit margin,'' adds Vicky.

Every night, nevertheless, there is a `tourist' bus to almost everywhere in Punjab, UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, with vehicles from Rao Travels, Jhang Travels, Suraj Travels and Prince Bus Service being the more available ones.

Regunathan adds that despite several measures to identify the erring bus operators, enforcement has been difficult because of various reasons. First, besides Delhi-registered vehicles, several vehicles from neighbouring states have also been found to be part of the racket.

Secondly, there are several complaints of connivance among the local police, the bus operators and STA officials, but little proof to support the complaints. ``We are in the process of drawing up a list of bus operators. Action will be taken against the erring operators very soon,'' Regunathan says.

The fares for these trips are flexible and depend on the tout you have run into or managed to dodge. The bus operators say that they determine the fare structure according to demands.

``We charge Rs 177 and Rs 150 to Dehra Dun on a two-by-two seater and a three-by-two seater respectively. The state roadways buses charge Rs 144 on a three-by-two seater. But we hike our fares by more than 100 per cent during the festival season. So next month you will not get a ticket to Dehra Dun for less than Rs 300,'' adds Vicky.

For the unsuspecting or even the regular passenger, there is a choice and little time to choose. It's either a trip to Dehra Dun or Shimla on a pathetic-looking state roadways bus from ISBT or a promised comfortable journey on a private `tourist' bus. A hint of approval for the latter and touts start milling around.

The time of departure is directly proportional to the number of passengers. The travel agencies have several cramped, dusty offices within a three-km radius of ISBT. Once the passengers are herded from these points, the trip begins. If the journey starts from near the Red Fort, the first stop is next to Lajpat Rai Market in Chandni Chowk, followed by Kashmere Gate, the Old Delhi Railway Station and finally opposite the travel agency counters at ISBT.

Police presence is almost always the deciding factor for choosing the location where passengers board the vehicle. For instance, on Thursday, an interceptor -- a Delhi Police Maruti Gypsy fitted with laser-operated speed tracking devices -- suddenly reached the Ritz theatre area. More than a hundred passengers, who had been promised that the buses would leave from there, were asked to proceed towards Mori Gate immediately.

Protesting because their journey had already been delayed by over two hours and they had to now drag their luggage again, many of the passengers reluctantly walked a one-km stretch to the Mori Gate terminus.

An Express Newsline team followed them to the spot, but there was no bus in sight. A little ahead of Mori Gate is a police post, adjacent to which a dusty path leads to Nicholson Road.

There were two buses parked there, almost hidden behind the Walled City boundary. Discreet inquiries revealed that DL-1PA-1869 and DL-1P-8458 were the same buses which were supposed to leave from near Ritz theatre for Shimla and Dehra Dun respectively till the interceptors arrived.

The buses reached the poorly-lit Mori Gate area 15 minutes later. Within 10 minutes, the much harried passengers were inside. The drivers of the speeding vehicles were least worried about the dusty trail. There would be a new permit and a new terminus tomorrow.