The Shillong Public Transport System (JNNURM buses) and the Shillong Supple
mentary Public Transport System (maxi taxis) have eased the sufferings of commuters to a large extent, providing them immense relief from the unscrupulous taxi drivers of the city.
The SPTS buses and the maxi cabs have been observed to ply through the length and breadth of the city and a cursory glance at one of these vehicles which are mostly found to be full of passengers is enough to decipher that these transport systems have been well received by the residents of the city.
However, residents in certain parts of the city are none too happy with the services of either the SPTS buses or the maxi cabs.
Right from the time the SPTS bus service was inaugurated in July last year, there has been a growing demand from residents of Lumdiengjri, Jhalupara and Rilbong for running these buses on these routes, but so far their demands have not been addressed.
Residents of these localities complain that neither the maxi taxi nor the SPTS buses have been allocated in these areas despite a huge demand.
“Hundreds of commuters from these areas still have to depend on local taxis to reach their offices, schools or to go to Police Bazar. There is an urgent need to introduce the maxi taxis of the buses on these routes,” a resident of Jhalupara said.
A resident of Rilbong observed that scores of people from these areas travel towards IGP, Keating Road and Police Bazar in the morning and return back in the evening. I think a bus in the morning and another one in the evening would be a great help from the Government for the people of these areas.”
“If SPTS buses are available then we would not have to depend on these taxis who charge ten rupees even for a very short distance like Jhalupara Point to Rhino Point or the Civil Hospital Point. We can save ten rupees daily if the SPTS buses are available. The money amounts to a lot for people especially from the economically weaker background,” an elderly gentleman observed.
It may be mentioned that only a couple of SPTS buses are visible in this stretch in the entire day while not a single maxi taxi is rendering its services in these areas.
When contacted, Principal Secretary, Urban Affairs, P Naik said that the main reason why services have not been extended to these areas is because of the shortage in the number of vehicles.
“We want to cover as much area in the city as possible. We would definitely keep these localities in mind when we further expand the services of the SPTS buses as well as the maxi taxis,” Naik said.
It is learnt that at present 50 SPTS buses and 25 maxi taxis are operating in Shillong city while some are rendering their services even outside the city’s jurisdiction. (Afaque Hussain)