The commuters of Shillong have welcomed the much hyped and maxi taxis which are plying on the Shillong roads today. This was another initiative of the State Government to improve the public transport system in the capital city.
Talking to The Shillong Times recently, Shillong Municipal Board CEO T Lyngwa said, “The response to the maxi taxis so far
has been very impressive.”
It may be mentioned that 40 maxi taxis have been allocated to the State under the 13th finance commission out of which presently 25 maxi taxis are catering to the commuters of Shillong.
Earlier, the commuters were often subjected to harassment and loot by the local cabbies. These maxi taxis have been able to provide some respite to the commuters.
According to Lyngwa, all the pending 15 maxi taxis would be on the roads of Shillong within the first week of February.
The public transport system in the city has improved largely after the State Government earlier launched the SPTS buses followed by the SSPTS maxi taxis.
Reacting to a query about the grievances redressal wing in case any commuter has any complaints with regard to the maxi taxis, the official stated that a control room has been set up in the parking lot near SBI Main branch.
“We also publicize the contacts in case any passenger has any complaints regarding the services,” he added.
The estimated budget of the maxi taxis is over Rs 1 crore.
However, some areas of Shillong have not been services by these maxi cabs. They include Rilbong, Kench’s Trace, Jhalupara and Lumdiengjri.
The SMB CEO informed that services to the above areas have not been launched due to shortage of vehicles.
“In subsequent days we will incorporate few vehicles which will ply towards Rilbong and nearby areas,” he added.
Going by the number of commuters in the city, people feel that the number of maxi taxis will have to be further increased.
” Increasing the number of vehicles depends on the response we get. If public response is encouraging we will further increase the number of vehicles on the roads,” he added.