20K passengers ferry through 70 smart buses daily

Lokmat News Network

Aurangabad:

The Aurangabad Smart City Development Corporation Limited (ASCDCL) has revived the public transport service (Smart City Buses) with zeal and force after the pandemic situation.

“The ASCDCL introduced the bus service in 2018. We are operating 70 buses daily. These buses are recording 1000 trips and are benefitting 20,000 passengers apart from attracting an income of Rs 5 lakh daily in our exchequer. These buses are travelling a distance of 19,000 kilometres daily,” said the head of the bus division, Ram Pavnikar.

It may be noted that the ASCDCL purchased 100 buses by spending Rs 40 crore in 2018. These buses were manufactured by Tata Motors. Accordingly, the ASCDCL signed a mutual agreement with the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to operate the buses. Prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, the buses were travelling a distance of 15,000 km daily till January 2020. In the pandemic situation, the service was halted to a grinding halt. After relaxation during the pandemic situation, the MSRTC employees went on strike for six months. Hence the ASCDCL had a tough time operating the buses. Later on, the ASCDCL recruited 110 drivers and conductors on a contract basis through an outsourcing agency.

After the pandemic situation, the service of 11 buses was revived under the guidance of the ASCDCL chief executive officer (CEO) Abhijeet Chaudhari. “Today, 70 buses are plying on 28 different routes. There is a major rush of passengers on the newly started route to Chikalthana and Waluj MIDC,” said Pavnikar.

Meanwhile, the ASCDCL has directed a private agency to upgrade the bus stops in the city within a week. However, the agency is yet to implement the order. The boards mentioning time table of buses are missing from the bus stops. Above all, these stops are so unsafe that hardly five persons could protect themselves from rainfall during the rainfall.