By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, July 19: The Meghalaya government has notified the Chief Minister’s Regional Transport Scheme, 2025 to establish a reliable bus network that links block headquarters with district headquarters.
The scheme aims to ensure a minimum one round trip per day between block headquarters and district headquarters with buses reaching the district headquarters by 9:30 am and departing by 5:30 pm, catering to office-goers, students, patients etc.
The scheme emphasises entrepreneurship-driven public transport service delivery. The government will provide substantial financial aid to eligible entrepreneurs willing to operate bus services on the designated routes.
The financial support includes covering up to 50% of the total cost of vehicle, encompassing the total interest charged by the bank on the loan.
The government intends to support entrepreneurs in purchasing vehicles from a range of options including up to 32-seater passenger vehicles along with additional support such as capacity building and training.
A state-level screening committee, to be headed by the Secretary of Transport department, will conduct the verification and scrutinisation of the applicants.
The selected individuals must undergo training under ‘CM RTS Operator Training Programme’ to be conducted by the Meghalaya Transport Corporation (MTC). The scheme will be implemented in two phases over a span of two years with allocation of two buses per route.
The state government will provide 35% of the on-road cost of vehicle as down payment, while the operator will be required to contribute 5% of the on-road cost.
The remaining 60% will be financed through a loan, to be repaid by the operator in monthly instalments over a 5-year period.
To support operators in meeting EMI obligations, the government will subsidise 30% of the EMI amount, paying it directly to the operator every month upon fulfilment of the conditions.
This support will be extended to operators who complete at least one round trip per day (minimum 26 trips per month) between block headquarters and district headquarters, with the bus reaching the district headquarters by 9:30 am and departing by 5:30 pm, catering to office goers, students, patients visiting hospitals, and people travelling to markets. The operator must comply with the scheduled route and timing consistently, with no more than three unexcused service disruptions per month. The operator must not tamper with GPS devices installed in the bus.
The vehicle must be maintained in good working conditions and it must meet safety and cleanliness standards as per the MTC guidelines.
