Gurugraman bus ridership falls 20% in four days, service suspended on Sunday

Ridership on the Gurugaman bus service fell by around 20% over four days, between March 16 and March 19. From a ridership of 90,292 on Monday, the number has been

Ridership on the Gurugaman bus service fell by around 20% over four days, between March 16 and March 19. From a ridership of 90,292 on Monday, the number has been falling by 5,000 to 7,000 people every day, plummeting to 72,703 people on Thursday, officials in the Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Ltd said.

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While ridership data for Friday was not readily available, officials said it has dipped further, due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“We have seen a 15-20% drop in passenger count across all of our routes since Monday, March 16, when the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Gurugram,” said Vanita Akhaury, spokesperson, GMCBL.

Akhaury also said that the bus service will cease to ply on Sunday during the ‘janata curfew’ advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and may be suspended depending on further orders. The matter came up for discussion during a meeting in Chandigarh on Friday, chaired by chief minister Khattar.

In a subsequent press release issued by the Haryana government, it was mentioned that “the City Bus Service in Gurugram shall be curtailed till further orders.” Akhaury said that while they are yet to receive orders to suspend services entirely, “they will be reduced, for sure.”

From 90,292 on Monday, Tuesday’s ridership fell to 83,983, dipping to 77,888 on Wednesday and then to 72,203 on Thursday. “Numbers are falling consistently. We have not seen such low ridership figures on a weekday in at least two months, and there has not been such a sharp drop in passengers since the service was started,” Akhaury said.

The most affected routes are Routes 212 (from Huda City Centre to Basai) and 134 (from Iffco Chowk to Manesar), with the ridership falling to 12,000 from over 16,000 per day, Akhaury said.

The Covid-19 outbreak, officials said, is also likely to hamper ridership growth on the GMCBL’s newly launched intercity routes, to Delhi and Faridabad. The service presently operates a fleet of 153 buses across 17 intracity and two intercity routes.

Despite falling ridership, the GMCBL is continuing with a “business-as-usual” approach. On March 16, the GMCBL’s 15th board meeting was held to discuss the service’s budget for the 2020-2021 financial year. “The buses will continue to run. As a precaution, every bus is being disinfected at the end of each trip with a 1% sodium hypochlorite solution. Our drivers and conductors have also been briefed on the best practices to stay safe,” said Akhaury.