Transport minister flags off five buses under ‘kilometre scheme’ in Gurugram
CHANDIGARH/GURGRAM: Haryana transport minister Mool Chand Sharma on Friday flagged off five buses under the “kilometre” scheme, in which private companies will be allowed to ply buses under Haryana Roadways.
The move is expected to reduce the running costs of vehicles significantly and also help reduce the deficit in the overall requirement of buses.
He also launched the e-ticketing system that will allow commuters to pay their fares digitally.
Sharma said the state government is also planning to launch air conditioned and Volvo buses under the kilometre scheme.
Of these five buses, two will ply between Gurugram and Chandigarh, while two others between Gurugram and Jaipur. The route of one bus will be Gurugram to Hisar.
Sharma said the state government is committed to provide proper transport facilities and under the kilometre scheme 150 buses will be launched in the first phase.
“Later, AC and Volvo buses will also start operations,” he said, while informing that the state government has also planned to buy new buses for the Haryana Roadways.
He said approval for purchasing 150 minibuses, about 20 Volvo buses and 100 ordinary buses has been given. All these buses, he said, are likely to be added to the
Haryana Roadways fleet before March 31, 2020.
He also said Gurugram will soon get a new bus stand, which will be equipped with state-of-theart facilities and the site for this has been identified.
Officials said these buses will be operated under Haryana Roadways. Only the conductor of the bus will be from the transport department, while the remaining staff and the expenses for diesel and maintenance will be borne by bus owners and private companies.
The launch comes a day after Jitender Kumar, the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on Thursday against a possible agitation by union workers at the bus depot or the Haryana roadways workshop there.
Union members protested against the scheme but were taken into preventive custody by Gurugram police.
“About 8,000-10,000 buses are required in the state. This scheme has been introduced to fill this gap. Buses under the kilometre scheme will be operating at a significantly lower running cost of ₹26.92 per km and will help provide better transport facilities to the public,” he said.
On Thursday, Virendra Kumar Dahiya, director, state transport had told HT that the current running cost of a bus is ₹52 per kilometre, and hence a public-private partnership (PPP) model is required to lower the running operations..