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Low footfall at Ludhiana bus stand as passengers fail to reach amid curfew
Bus operators at Ludhiana ISBT questioned the viability of plying buses when travellers were unable to reach the bus stand amid the restrictions.
Though buses were allowed to run on Saturday, few passengers managed to avail the public transport due to the curfew imposed by Punjab government.
Seeing the low footfall, bus operators at Ludhiana ISBT questioned the viability of plying buses when travellers were unable to reach the bus stand amid the restrictions.
Many cops and traffic volunteers deployed at the bus stand to check violations, were seen sitting idle with no crowd to maintain.
Barricades were installed to plug the alternate access inside the bus stand and two roadways employees were deputed near the entrance to record the temperature of passengers upon arrival.
Expressing anguish over the hampered services, Punjab Roadways bus driver Ranjit Singh said his bus was parked for over an hour at the ISBT. “Only one passenger has arrived. As per the government protocol, we can ferry only 25 people. To top it all, passengers are not arriving due to the curfew. The trip from Ludhiana to Mohali will consume 40 litres of fuel. I do not know the logic behind plying the vehicle as it is completely unviable and will cause losses to the state exchequer,” he said.
A group of conductors were anxiously urging passengers to board a bus for Ambala.
“I have been in this profession for the past 20 years, but never have I seen such a situation. After the lockdown was lifted, passengers started availing the service, but in low numbers. It took us 15 to 20 minutes to get the adequate number of passengers as per government guidelines. But today, passengers have not arrived. It has been nearly half an hour and no one has come so far,” said the bus conductor.
The few passengers who did make it were equally exasperated.
Manpreet Kaur, who was travelling to Mohali, said air-conditioned buses are not plying due to the Covid-19 situation. “I have been sitting in the vehicle for nearly an hour amid hot and humid weather wait for the bus to finally start moving. I have been told that the bus will not ply till an adequate number of passengers do not arrive,” she rued.
Deepak Kumar, who runs an eatery inside the bus stand, said the business has been reduced to 30 percent since the pandemic struck.
“There are various contributing factors which have led to the downfall of business. As school, colleges and other educational institutions are shut, students are no longer travelling in buses. Moroever, bus service to rural areas has been stopped, resulting in low footfall. The curfew has further deepened the crises,” added Deepak.
Meanwhile, Punjab state PunBus contract workers’ union vice-president Satnam Singh said the curfew led to a 70 percent dip in the number of passengers.
“We urge the government to take strict action against the bus operators, especially sleeper buses from other states, who are running in the city. Not only are they causing a loss to the state exchequer by not submitting the bus stand fees, they are also violating the Covid guidelines, causing risk of infection,” he said.
Passengers were also seen standing near the Jalandhar and Patiala counters, waiting for their buses to reach stipulated occupancy.
A few passengers and staffers at bus stand were not wearing masks and sitting in close proximity.