The operation schedule of public transport vehicles including city buses and Vikram tempos is adding to the woes of the people who depend on public transport for daily commute. The city buses and tempos stop operation at night on various routes due to which those looking for public transport have no option but to opt for the costlier auto rickshaws.
The operators of city buses and Vikram tempos are not following the schedule-chart specifying exact number of rounds to be completed in a day on the route. However, this leads to much inconvenience for the people who depend on public transport. When asked about any timing schedule meant especially for the Vikram tempo operators in town, Vikram Jankalyan Sewa Samiti (VJSS) president Satish Sharma replied that there is no such rule meant for them. They generally follow their self made rules or function as per the instruction given by the tempo owners, he said.
The number of rounds made by tempos also depends on the length of the route. The Vikram tempo operators make more round trips on the short routes and fewer rounds on the long routes. Therefore the minimum and maximum number of rotations by the Vikram tempos may vary between 6-10 depending on the route.
The city bus operators also don’t follow any particular time schedule. According to the president of Parade Ground-Parwal-Premnagar City Bus Union, Vijay Vardhan Dandriyal, the city buses start functioning from around 6:40 am and there is no fixed schedule regarding their operational timings at night. The night timing may vary according to the availability of the passengers on the routes.
In spite of getting proper instruction from the Regional Transport Officer (RTO), Dinesh Chandra Pathoi to extend their operation timing in the night, no amendment has been done yet by the city bus operators. Recently RTO officials had asked the city buses operators to operate from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm in winters and 5.00 am to 9:00 pm in summers.
Opposing this decision of the RTO, the city bus union members had stated that they would follow this schedule only if the RTO officials take some concrete action against the illegal operation of Vikram tempos in the State capital. The city bus union members demanded that the pending Vikram tempo permit issue be resolved at earliest and the permit of the unauthorised Vikram tempos operators also be cancelled permanently.