SHILLONG: Though hundreds of local taxis and SPTS buses ply in the city daily, there seems to be no end to the problems of commuters in the absence of a well managed public transport system in the capital city of Meghalaya.
On Wednesday, an SPTS Bus (ML 01 6206) picked up a number of passengers from Motphran at around 12 noon but all the passengers were asked to get down from the bus after reaching Khyndailad.
Minutes after the particular bus started its journey, the conductor told the passengers that they will take a U-Turn from Police Bazar and accordingly asked the passengers to travel in other buses coming from Motphran.
Around 10-15 passengers who were sitting in the bus quietly followed the conductor and got down from the bus at Khyndailad without any argument. The particular conductor was polite for the fact that he did not charge any money from the passengers. After the passengers got down, the bus was seen taking a U-Turn at Police Bazar but nobody knows where the bus was heading and why the passengers were asked to get down.
Leaving apart Government buses, even local taxis continue to exploit the passengers. Many passengers have complained that they are charged Rs 10 even if they board the local taxi from Rhino point to Last Stop and the same amount is charged if passengers travel from Police Bazar to Last Stop. Though there are prescribed fixed rate for travelling in local taxis, hardly any driver follows it in Shillong and passengers gracefully pay the demanded amount at ease.