SHILLONG, Dec 20: The school and electric buses that Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma announced in March for Shillong are unlikely to roll out in 2022, which is running out of days.
The school and electric buses figured in Sangma’s Budget speech as a move for decongesting the capital city’s streets. Not only did these buses not come, but the traffic situation has worsened since.
Shillong has been struggling with traffic snarls for quite a long time. A recent study by the Planning Department revealed that the city has a saturated road system with an average network speed of less than 15 kmph and very less space for widening the roads due to its hilly terrain and built-up areas.
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Meghalaya had the highest growth rate of registered vehicles in the country at 17.74% during 2007-17.
Data with the Meghalaya Transport Department till November 2021 showed nearly half of the vehicles in the state are registered at the Regional Transport Office in Shillong, out of which 44% were two-wheelers and 33% four-wheelers.
While the figures point to substantial growth in the number of private vehicles in the city, the expansion of the roads during this period was minimal. The resultant traffic congestion necessitated the decision to strengthen the public transport system.
Public vehicles currently account for 11% of the city’s traffic against the recommended share of 30% (URDPFI guidelines). In addition, Shillong has an unreliable public transport system without a proper schedule.
Transport specialists said the public transport system in the city needs to be overhauled and expanded.
The government, officials said, intends to launch 30 e-buses in four identified high-demand corridors of Shillong to cater to the growing mobility demand. These corridors connect the city’s commercial, employment, and educational centres with the residential areas and the regional transportation hub – Inter-State Bus Terminus.
City E-Bus System at Dhankheti is the largest junction in Shillong in terms of traffic volume and the area (Dhankheti and Laitumkhrah) has one of the largest concentrations of educational institutions. Close to 27,000 students study in this area.
A government document also said 60% of the school children go to school in cars, with each car occupying 5 sq. m of road area.
In a survey conducted among the schools in this area, 88% of the parents drop their wards at school as there aren’t any reliable alternatives to safely transport their kids, resulting in the wastage of valuable time of the residents.
To address this issue, the government intends to soon launch an app-based commuter service – a bus service where users shall be picked up from their residential areas and dropped off at schools or employment centres.
The users shall be able to book seats based on routes and times of their choice from the app. Contactless payment, real-time tracking, drop-off customisation, ETA notification, etc., are some of the highlights of the system.
Initially, 30 commuter buses shall be launched in a pilot mode for 19 schools in the Dhankheti- Laitumkhrah area. The service shall be expanded to other schools in the city, business centres and government offices.
