Indore: The sudden shortage of ibuses has affected students, professionals and majority of women commuters causing unexpected delays and inconvenience. Though people had started opting for ibus as it was quick, efficient and safe, it is now becoming overcrowded and causing delays.
The ibuses that plied at an interval of two to five minutes are now running at interval of 10 to 15 minutes. This unexpected delay has affected over 60,000 commuters who commute in ibuses every day. “There is possible 5 to 9 percent fall in riders, which is normal,” said Atal Indore City Transport Services Ltd (AiCTSL) chief executive officer Sandeep Soni.
Sharing the reason, Soni said, “We have changed the scheduling of ibuses as a preventive measure considering the safety issues reported recently.” The buses are scheduled as such that certain buses are plying in morning shift and others are running in evening.
“About 14 buses are running in the morning and there are times when all buses run. But we are changing and controlling the buses as a preventive measure,” Soni said. AiCTSL is not operating all the buses all the time, which is causing overcrowding in buses and delays.
“This time, we are strained a little. It is a preventive measure to reduce incidents of problems in buses,” Soni said.
Inspection report expected soon
Central Institute of Road Transport team, which visited AiCTSL has returned after reviewing the buses and their operations for two to three days. The inspection report is expected in coming week that will disclose the condition of buses and probable reasons of breakdowns.
I take the ibus everyday, because I feel safer and the services are smooth. However, recently, I am reaching late to college every day. The buses that used to arrive every 5 minutes, now comes in around 15 minutes, which causes delay for me.
Vanshika R Gangwani, Lecturer
I actually like ibus, but now the buses are arriving late and the crowd is excessive. These days, I have to take my car or two-wheeler as the services are getting from bad to worse.” Bindiya Sood, Administrator
ibus was a good option and most people opted for the same. Now, with its delays and the growing crowd, the services are becoming abysmal. I doubt if I will continue travelling in an ibus if the services are so bad.” Ankur Jaisinghani, Businessman
The bus is always jam-packed these days even in non-peak hours like in morning shift hours. I used to get a seat regularly and used to have a hassle-free travel, but now it is a bumpy ride with late running buses. Some people told me that there’s a maintenance issues, but still I feel they should manage something for the regular commuters and provide a bus in at least 10 minutes. Jeraj Jain, Engineering student
