Shillong buses gain popularity

A JNNURM BUS
Shillong, Aug. 7: The commissioning of 40 buses under the flagship Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission (JNNURM) on July 22 in Shillong came as a respite for thousands of commuters who were tired of the expensive cab rides and arrogant cabbies.
Last month, the transport department and the urban affairs department signed a memorandum of understanding on operation of these buses and subsequently, the Shillong Public Transport Service, a special cell of the Meghalaya Transport Corporation (MTC), was handed over the responsibility of operating them.
The buses have since earned the envy of cabbies, as the maroon vehicles are increasingly being preferred over the yellow-black cabs.
A cab driver, apparently miffed with the change of commuters’ attitude towards cabbies, told this correspondent, “As the buses are still new, people are enjoying the ride. But I am sure these buses will meet the same fate as that of the other MTC buses, which have now virtually collapsed.”
Once the new transport system collapsed, people would have no other alternative but to run to the cabbies for conveyance, he added.
The commuters, on the other hand, wanted the government to ensure that the system improved and remained intact.
“After the arrival of the new buses, we feel relieved, since we have been harassed by the cabbies for far too long. Apart from being economical, the buses have given the public an alternative means of transport. We want the system to improve and remain in place for the benefit of the people,” a commuter, John H. Lyngdoh, said.
On its part, the government has been appealing to the commuters to assist it in its endeavour to make the system vibrant and sustainable. From requesting passengers to ask for tickets from bus conductors to appealing to them to maintain cleanliness inside the buses, the government appears to be going all out to ensure that the state has a functional public transport system. Yesterday, the MTC assistant general manager (operations), Anthony Pariat, said some passengers had tried to damage the seats with sharp instruments, while some tried to scratch the bus bodies. “The government came up with these buses for the benefit of the public. It is unfortunate that people display such acts of destruction,” he said.
On complaints about non-issue of tickets by conductors, Pariat said many of these conductors were new to the job and their performance would improve with time.
He also appealed to the public to pay the exact amount of fare so that the conductors were not burdened.
Shillong is supposed to receive 120 buses under the JNNURM, out of which only 40 minibuses are currently plying on the roads. The remaining buses will be dispatched in due course of time.
Moreover, urban affairs minister Ampareen Lyngdoh on Friday said members of the programme monitoring units would be conducting surprise checks on the buses from tomorrow to ascertain whether the commuters were satisfied with the service and would also penalise commuters found travelling without tickets.
She said the functioning of these buses would also be reviewed after three months, the countdown for which commenced on July 22 itself when the buses were officially commissioned.