Niharika Neureker
PANJIM: Kadamba Transport Corporation Ltd’s (KTCL) shuttle bus service connecting the major towns is facing shortage of buses during the peak hours in the mornings and evenings.
There are thirty buses functioning under the shuttle bus service. The KTC started the shuttle bus service with the objective of providing hassle-free, efficient and convenient services to the passengers. The shuttle bus provides point-to-point services through the “mini or midi” buses connecting the major towns of Margao, Panjim, Vasco, Mapusa, Ponda, and Curchorem . These services are non-stop without standees and hence the travel time is reduced and the passengers are dropped directly inside the city. However, waiting in long queues and delay in starting the bus journey has resulted in causing some trouble to the passengers.
“We have around thirty buses under this service, and as such they function smoothly. We only face problem during the evening time as four buses from Margao come to Panjim and then move outstation directly, this results in passengers waiting in long queues and a delay in their travel time”, said 55- year-old Ramkrishna Sawant, a conductor in the shuttle bus. Besides doing his duty as a conductor Sawant also doubles up by working behind the ticket counter. He has been working for the KTC for a few years now. He further added “therefore passengers face inconvenience from five to seven in the evening”.
“The fact that the bus goes directly is of an advantage to us given that many roads are under construction here. The service has done well and I think they should charge more than they already do”, said 30-year old Dattaraj, a commuter of this service.
“The service is fast, does not consume time, and its speed is also decent, that serves best the interests of the working class, and students, who need to report to their respective places on time”, said Dilshaad Shaikh, from Panjim, another commuter .
In spite of having to wait in long queues during office hours, the passengers still choose this service over the service provided by the private buses for its efficiency. “They need to improve their services a little, people sometimes stand in the queue for an hour, other than that I personally think it is very convenient”, said 20-year-old Rohan Fernandez.
“The bus service starts its drive only when all the seats are occupied and therefore when in a hurry I would suggest using private buses. These private local buses also charge less. The only difference between the two services is comfort, which is provided by the shuttle buses which lacks in the private buses”, said Kavita Gondalkar.
The shuttle bus service, however, has not affected the business of the private bus service providers much. Ismaile, a driver of one such private bus said, “We don’t have much passengers travelling in our buses these days because of holidays but the KTC service has not really done much harm to us”.
Shivraj, a conductor, said, “Many people consider factors of efficiency and convenience, but most of the people travelling by buses belong to low income groups and therefore they choose to travel with us”.
Although the general public is quite satisfied with this service, they feel that the service requires a little more improvement so as to overcome the drawbacks that are pretty few in numbers.
