Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Despite many technological advancements in the city, out of the six barricades installed at each of the AICTSL i-bus stations, only two or three happen to function properly. The major reason for the dysfunctional barricades is the maintenance checks that have been going on for over three months in the city. Dysfunctional barrier gates, irregular frequency of i-buses and absence of QR payment gateways puts a big question mark on the city’s technical advancements.
“Most of the barrier gates are functional, while i-buses are kept under regular checks, which may have affected the frequency of the buses,” says Manoj Pathak, CEO, AICTSL. Chetan, i-bus regulation-in-charge, says, “We keep the barricades open whenever they’re dysfunctional, while, at other times, regular maintenance checks are carried out by the department.”
While the officials claim that regular maintenance checks are carried out at the i-bus stations, the prominent stations seem to be overcrowded with passengers who wait in long queues to buy tickets for a bus. Sneha Chauhan, a regular commuter, says not only are the i-buses crowded, but also the ticket counters at the stations during the peak hours, while the flow of buses is infrequent.
Smart cards do not work smartly
While the ticket counters are crowded during the peak hours, those with smart cards also have to wait in long queues. Nivedita Arora, a commuter with a smart card, says, ‘Most of the time, only one of the barricades is in working condition, but that, too, fails to recognise the card. We have to ask for help most of the time from the guard who opens it for us’
Irregular frequency of i-buses
Even as the officials claim that the time between the arrival and departure of i-buses from a station is said to be only 3 minutes, people wait for 15-20 minutes to board a bus to their destination. The major stations where people face the problems include, Shivaji Vatika, Navlakha, AICTSL and Palasia. While standing out in the lanes takes up a major portion of people’s time, infrequent bus arrivals add to their waiting period.
