Editor,
I have had the opportunity to travel in the JNNURM funded buses. Without doubt, they have eased the burden of local commuting. Once additional buses are deployed, travel will be much easier for the harassed city commuter once dependent on local taxis for transportation. However, I would like to add a few suggestions to make the bus facility more helpful to the public. Firstly, tickets must be compulsorily issued to all the passengers. This will encourage revenue generation and minimize misappropriation by the conductor. In my journeys I have seen that the bus service needs much improvement as the bus halts at respective stops for longer durations to get more passengers. More passengers definitely means more money to be misappropriated. Compulsory ticketing will prevent such malpractice and will ensure that the buses avoid unnecessary long halts. Even if the ticketing machines are non-operational, manual ticketing must be resorted to. Secondly, the practice of surprise checking for passengers travelling without tickets must be introduced. In Delhi, this is done often, upon disembarkation. This ensures that the passengers take it upon themselves the responsibility to demand issue of tickets. Thirdly, both conductors and drivers must be made to wear uniforms. This helps the travelling public to identify them and helps bring about discipline that the uniform automatically ensures. Along with it, the name tag of both driver and conductor must be prominently displayed on their person. A further suggestion, would be to insist that the conductor sits near the door and issues tickets there-from. This is a vantage point from which all passengers embarking can collect tickets. At the same time, the conductor will be in a position to control all disembarkation and embarkation. Finally, it would be appropriate if the system of connecting buses was introduced. For example, city buses of moderate sizes can ply in the city up to Mawblei or thereabouts and terminate there. Connecting buses to Mawryngkneng, etc which may be bigger buses, can start from there, and, on return, terminate at the station of origin. This will ensure that such buses do not enter the city and add to the traffic congestion. It would be better still if the government came out with a public notices in all the local papers, indicating thereon the bus routes along with the timings of the first bus and the last bus along each route. It is still early days, hence worth a thought to begin to bring about order in the functioning of the bus service and streamlining the services.
Yours etc.,
D N Lyngdoh,
Shillong -14