Ggm bus service off to a sputtering start
GURUGRAM: Gurugram’s own city bus service, Gurugaman, was launched on Sunday, albeit with minor hiccups as the first bus carrying chief minister ML Khattar and other dignitaries stalled.
Khattar flagged off the first bus from an under-construction depot in Sector 10, near Basai Chowk, at 9.45am. “With the launch of this service, we have fulfilled a promise made to the citizens of Gurugram,” he said.
The chief minister, MP Rao Inderjit Singh, mayor Madhu Azad and PWD minister Rao Narbir Singh, among other politicians and officials travelled in this bus up to Huda City Centre on Route 212.
So far, the service is operational only on Route 212, which runs in a circle from Basai Chowk to Huda City Centre and back, covering 25.1km, with 51 stops in the ‘up’ direction and 44 stops in the other.
V Umashankar, CEO of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), regulatory authority of the bus service, said Route 212 was picked due to its connectivity between old and new Gurugram. He said the route was important in establishing Huda City Center as a multimodal transport hub, which has been a priority for the GMDA.
Of the total 25 buses launched and allocated to this route, 18 were put in service on Sunday. “This will be the case every weekend. On weekdays, to accommodate increased passenger volume, all 23 buses will be deployed,” Umashankar said, adding that two buses will always be on standby.
The service, however, encountered problems on the launch day itself. The first bus to leave the depot, in which Khattar rode, had to be stopped midroute at Huda City Centre due to reported technical issues with the engine. This was confirmed by the bus driver, who spoke with the Hindustan Times. “The bus was jerking a lot and the drive was not smooth, suggesting that there might be some fault in the engine,” he said.
However, GMCBL manager (administration) Arun Sharma denied that any technical problems had arisen and said the response to the launch was positive. “If there were any issues, I would have heard about it. The service ran absolutely smoothly,” Sharma said.
About the technical issue, Umashankar said, “The bus driver had applied the brakes harshly. This needs to be checked so passengers don’t feel the suddenness of breaking.”
Meanwhile, passengers who availed of the bus service on Sunday said the buses were infrequent. Neeraj Kumar, a 19-yearold student, who took a joyride on one of the buses on Sunday, said he waited 30 minutes at the bus stop before boarding one of the 25 buses that have been pressed into service.
Earlier in the day, Chander Shekhar Khare, CEO of the Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Ltd (GMCBL), had said that the buses would operate at a frequency of 18 minutes during non-peak hours and nine minutes during peak hours.
The city bus service was launched almost two years after it was first announced in October 2016.