Facing flak over poor public transport services in the district, Noida Authority has finally swung into action and has decided to improve transportation facilities in near future. The authority has sought details of all 196 buses given to Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Department (UPSRTC) for plying between Noida and Greater Noida as these buses are reportedly running in other parts of the State.
According to sources, authority officials have also asked the Government to provide 200 additional buses to ferry the passengers in the district and the State Government has also given go ahead to this. These buses will be made available under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in which 50 per cent of total cost will be borne by the Central Government. Around 100 buses will be provided to run in Noida city while remaining will ply between Noida-Greater Noida.
Sandeep Raichada, Regional General Manager of UPSRTC said, “It’s true that we are running buses provided by Noida Authority in other districts too as there was no any specific order given by authority for running them in the city only. With these buses, we connect Gautambudh Nagar with neighbouring districts that also benefits the passengers. We are ready to ply them in Noida and Greater Noida if authority asks us to do so. Presently, we have nearly 235 buses including 192 buses given by Noida Authority for the district and we have decided to run all these buses in both cities after forming Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).”
Apart from this, Noida Authority is chalking out a plan to regulate autos, taxis and rickshaws running on all six routes in the city. Authority is also planning to fix their fares and will not allow driving taxi and tempo without uniform. The announcement in this regard is expected to come soon.
“Though we have been working properly to improve transport system in the city but yet we have not taken any concrete step in this regard. As we are facing space crunch besides the various roads in the city, we have been facing problems to select spaces for auto and taxi stands,” said MP Singh, Superintendent of Police (Traffic), Gautambudh Nagar.