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City bus service remains off road in Ludhiana, residents at receiving end
The contractor was given permission to start the service a week ago, but he is seeking a hike in rates before buses are restarted.
While the municipal corporation (MC) allowed the contractor to operate the local bus service in the city a week ago, the service remains off the road as the contractor is seeking a hike in fares.
In the absence of the service, residents continue to bear the brunt, especially amid the hike in fuel prices.
When put to a halt after the imposition of curfew in the state in March, the city bus service used to ferry around 3,500 passengers daily on four routes in the city. The routes included Sahnewal to Clock Tower, Kohara to the bus stand, Dugri to Metro Supermarket and Railway Station to Meharban.
An official of the MC, requesting anonymity, said, “The contractor has been seeking a hike in the fare for a long time, but the authorities are demanding that the contractor should first clear the dues. A case regarding the same is also sub judice in the Punjab and Haryana high court.”
He said the contractor is claiming that rates of diesel have increased by Rs 26 per litre during the past five years, but the fare has not been increased.
He said the contractor has also claimed that he will have to run the buses at half the capacity as per the Covid-10 guidelines issued by the government.
MC additional commissioner Sanyam Aggarwal said, “The MC permitted the contractor to commence the service last week. Now, it depends on the contractor when he resumes it. There is no proposal to increase the fare as of now and if the contractor fails to run the buses, then action would be taken against him.”
Contractor Jaskirat Singh from Horizon Connect Transways Private Limited said, “We are expecting low footfall as the labour has moved back to their home towns. Also, fuel prices are rising. Meanwhile, we are conducting a survey to judge the feasibility of resuming the service.”
The residents, however, demanded resumption of the service at the earliest.
A resident of Jawahar Nagar camp, Jaswinder Singh, said, “I always used to travel in the city bus, but now I am forced to travel in the auto rickshaws, where chances of spread of coronavirus are higher and we also have to shell out more money. The MC should operate the buses on its own, if there is issues with the contractor.”
