By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, July 30: People commuting in Sustainable Transport and Efficient Mobility Society or STEMS buses seem to be satisfied with the service.
The STEMS has 30 buses – 27 of them rolled out for school students and one for tourism. Two have been kept on a standby.
The STEMS said the buses are running at full capacity as the parents are interested in the service.
“We are getting a good response. As the demand is rising, we have requested the state government to provide us with some money so we can buy 30 more buses,” the STEMS said.
There is a public perception that the STEMS buses could be an alternative given the ever-rising problem of traffic snarls in the city.
The STEMS said the 27 buses it is operating have reduced at least 400 cars from the roads. If 100 buses are rolled out, they will reduce 1,500 cars, it added.
“The objective is to reduce congestion because one bus carries 34-35 children. If the buses are not there, there will be 34-35 cars on the roads,” the STEMS said.
At the 16th Urban Mobility India Conference and Expo held in New Delhi last year, Shillong had bagged an award with the best record of public involvement in transport planning for the project “Shared Commuter Service in East Khasi Hills”.
The STEMS buses are GPS-enabled and this helps parents track them real-time. The buses have trained caretakers and modern features including CCTV cameras. The routes were designed after multiple rounds of consultations with stakeholders.