SHILLONG: With barely four thousand taxis and just over a few hundred buses, the public transport system in Shillong city is lagging behind other cities in the country and forcing citizens to pine for Ola and Uber. In Shillong, government-owned buses are confined to only a few routes while leaving the others, including some important ones, to taxis.
For instance, government-owned buses can be found waiting for passengers in Jhalupara and Lumdingjri areas only during school hours while throughout the day, their service is irregular.
In Jhalupara and on some other routes, the bus service is very irregular forcing citizens to depend largely on taxis.
The commuters also complain of several issues with taxis like overloading; the drivers also often refuse to carry passengers on share preferring booking. In such circumstances, commuters feel it is high time that service providers like Ola and Uber be introduced in the city to address the issue of public transport.
It may be mentioned that Ola and Uber operate in Guwahati.
Some say that traffic is a bigger challenge in Guwahati in comparison to Shillong, but the public transport system there is far better be it city buses, Ola and Uber, other vehicles and even auto rickshaws.
When contacted, an official said that there are plans to introduce Uber and Ola service in the city, but the government is apprehensive of the possible adverse impact on the livelihood of the local taxi drivers.
However, traffic management could become an even bigger challenge in Shillong if Ola and Uber come in as they will use not less than 100-200 vehicles.
