By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Amidst accolades and brickbats, the much-hyped Shillong Public Transport Service (SPTS) buses will complete its one year of service on Sunday.
The service was launched last year amid great expectations from the public who were at the receiving end with local taxis ruling the roost, charging exorbitant fares from the passengers while at the same time imposing their own rules on some occasions.
The launch of the SPTS buses had revolutionised the public transport system in the city.
In the first year of service, the buses generated a whopping Rs 2.77 crore. As per statistics, the buses generated revenue of Rs 6.9 lakh in the first month of service, while the amount collected last month was Rs 25 lakh.
The steady increase in revenue depicts the role these vehicles play in the city’s public transport system.
The Transport Minster AT Mondal while expressing happiness over the feat said, “I agree there are some problems but we will sort it out and ensure that best services are given to the public.”
Despite being tagged as a land mark service, many questions have been raised on the functioning of these buses.
From non issuance of tickets by conductors to poor maintenance, the SPTS has been shrouded by several controversies.
When contacted, Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said, “We must serve the common man who has no access to decent public transport system.”
According to Lyngdoh, the department would only advise that the buses must remain in healthy condition and services must not be compromised at any cost.
“Instead of playing a blame game, we must ensure that the best services are provided to people,” she added.
The buses were procured under the JNNURM project and Urban Affairs department handed over 50 buses to the MTC for operating them.
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) will run the next fleet of buses shortly.
The MUDA had forwarded a proposal to the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) and they have been asked to operate the next 20 buses in the city.
Lyngdoh informed that evaluation is being done and very shortly all the remaining buses would be brought to the city.
The Urban Affairs department is also in the process of finalising the smart ticket services where passengers have to buy a smart card for travelling in the buses for a fixed period of time on the lines of Metro services in New Delhi.
