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Gurgaon News - 2004

Gurgaon now has a bus service but don’t wait for it

Gurgaon, June 11: If anyone in Gurgaon believed that the recent move by Haryana government to start a city bus service would make commuting easy was in for a big disappointment. The area lacks a proper public transport system and residents have to depend on personal vehicles. So, the move had been welcomed.

But out of 55 permits issued to private bus operators by the district transport office recently, only four have been sought for Gurgaon’s residential sectors. Forty have been granted for routes between Delhi-Haryana border and Dharuhera (an industrial hub on the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway) while 11 have been given for buses to go up to Maruti Kunj on the Gurgaon-Sohna Road.

Interestingly, even in this decision to address a major problem in Gurgaon, there is an element of arbitrariness. District Transport Officer Chatter Singh says: ‘‘We have no enforcement powers as far as deciding the routes of the city buses is concerned. Once we issue a permit, it is the sole discretion of the bus operator to decide the route on which he plans to ply the vehicle. Often, only profitable routes are chosen.’’

The only concern of this office seems to be collection of passenger and road tax.

What this means is that residents and visitors to the city will have to continue to rely on the erratic autorickshaws, few and far between, and cycle-rickshaws. ‘‘People living in Sushant Lok and South City have no option but to depend to cycle-rickshaws to cover even short distances within the city,’’ says Apoorva Gupta, a resident of South City. ‘‘Or you cover distances on foot.’’

Meanwhile, residents of some of the most high-profile areas in Gurgaon continue to suffer. ‘‘Over the years, a wrong impression has been created that New Gurgaon areas are inhabited by only the elite section of society,’’ says Sanjay Kaul of People’s Action.

‘‘Around a year back, we had apprised the district administration of the problem. However, as in many other things, our areas seem to be the last on the government’s priority list,’’ says Kaul.