Gurgaon to cruise in 450 new buses

Gurgaon residents, get ready to travel in style. The Haryana Transport Department is likely to join hands with two private operators to ply 450 air-conditioned and non- air-conditioned low-floor and semi-low-floor buses on 40 routes between Gurgaon and neighbours on PPP (public private partnership) model.

Gurgaon residents, get ready to travel in style. The Haryana Transport Department is likely to join hands with two private operators to ply 450 air-conditioned and non- air-conditioned low-floor and semi-low-floor buses on 40 routes between Gurgaon and neighbours on PPP (public private partnership) model.

HT Image

This is especially relevant for Delhi’s transport-starved suburb, where travelling from one high rise complex to another sometimes involves incredible logistic planning.

Richa Handa (35), a homemaker and resident of Uniworld City, Sector 30, termed the present public transport in Gurgaon “pathetic”.

“Intra-city transportation is almost non-existent and connectivity with Delhi, especially for women, is not so effective,” she said.

The good news for people like Handa, looking for safe, quality commuting is that 60 percent of these buses are likely to be air-conditioned and fitted with GPS (Global Positioning System).

The buses are likely to roll out on routes in mid 2010. Incidentally, in March, DMRC's Metro is also going to start shunting between Gurgaon and Mehrauli in south Delhi.

Haryana Transport Commissioner, Anand Mohan Sharan, who was in Gurgaon today, told HT the consultant appointed for suggesting the transport model for Gurgaon had submitted its report based on a “massive” survey.

The survey, he said, was effective enough to suit the very requirement of the burgeoning urban centre.

“Going by the very profile of the people living in Gurgaon that has many posh localities, the consultant has suggested induction of air-conditioned buses to the tune of 60 percent of the total fleet," he said.

He clarified that the urban segment wasn’t the only one the transport model was targeting.

“We would also have non-air conditioned buses to cater to the needs of the low-income group as Gurgaon has a large number of the worker community,” Sharan added.