Public bus service turning chaotic in Guwahati

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Guwahati has more than 3000 buses, more than 25000 auto rickshaws, 2000 e-rickshaws, and about 7500 taxis (including the e-services of Ola, Uber, Rapido, etc.). Among these registered vehicles, only 70 percent run in Guwahati.

City buses are in abundance, and people are accessible to them. The buses do not follow any traffic rules. A bus takes an hour to reach a destination that can be reached in 20 to 40 minutes. With the increasing number of vehicles every day, traffic congestion is increasing more and more.

According to one of the passengers, due to the ongoing construction, people are avoiding using public transport. They are switching to Ola and Uber, which charge through their noses. City buses are checked at checkpoints, but this does not happen on a regular basis.

Deben Kalita, one of the bus conductors, said, "We wait at every stop because we need to pay our owner, and the maximum number of passengers we get, the more profit we can earn, or else all of the profit goes to the owner. Also, the increasing rate of gasoline is another area where we try to get more passengers."

Another passenger on the bus said, "Just like private buses, ASTC buses wait at every stop and take heavy loads. There were pink buses, but now they are nowhere to be seen. There is no proper maintenance."

A DTO official said, "We regularly check the buses, and in terms of ASTC, we try to keep at least one minute of time at every stop. A time haul is given to every bus, not only to that of ASTC, to carry passengers."

Another passenger said, "Even if we try to change our mode of transport by switching it to Ola or Uber, the problem still arises as they charge more, and if we deny paying them the said amount, they cancel the ride." "There should be proper maintenance and rules for the running of the buses so that every passenger can avail of them and travel without facing any problem."

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