By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The Meghalaya Transport Corporation (MTC) which is operating the much hyped Shillong Public Transport Service (SPTS) buses has been asked to make the fourteen buses operational within this month.
The MTC has been castigated since fourteen of the fifty SPTS buses sanctioned to the body are out of order due to maintenance problems.
Talking to media persons here, Principal Secretary Urban Affairs, P Naik said that the MTC has assured the department that they will make the buses operational soon.
Questions have been raised about the competency of the Meghalaya Transport Corporation (MTC) which is running the bus service.
Interestingly, now it is reported that infact seventeen buses have become grounded even though the number was fourteen recently. According to Naik, the MTC and MUDA officials had a meeting last week and they even reviewed the performance of the buses which were launched with much fanfare last year.
“These buses have to managed in a better way,” he said while speaking to reporters here recently.
In addition, the commuters also complained that in most of the buses, the LED lights have disappeared and even the conductors and drivers don’t wear their uniforms and the frequency has reduced since many buses are out of order. Commuter also complained that many of the conductors are not issuing tickets to the commuters.
It may be mentioned that 70% of the profit goes to MTC while the 30 percent of the total profit of the buses goes to the account of MUDA leaving a side 10% for the maintenance of the buses.
Although its almost a year since the buses were launched, till date neither the smart ticket services nor the CCTV cameras has been installed in the buses.
It may be mentioned that the SPTS buses are operating in 19 routes of the city but there is still a paucity of public transport system in several localities in the city.