Short ride, giant journey
2 min readPatna: The new bus service from Kargil Chowk to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has turned out to be a boon for passengers.
Within four days of the service being launched, daily passenger figure touched 7,000, which is unprecedented. Residents have reason to rejoice as, earlier, there was no direct bus from Kargil Chowk to AIIMS. The bus stops just outside the AIIMS out-patient department (OPD), providing much-needed relief to patients. Altogether, 15 buses have been put in service.
“The success rate is higher than that of the first route (Kargil Chowk to Danapur). Despite running 15 buses, it touched 7,000 passengers a day; the figure is 13,000 passengers in 25 buses for the first route,” transport secretary Sanjay Kumar Agarwal told The Telegraph.
“Earlier, people wouldn’t even plan to go from Gandhi Maidan to AIIMS in the absence of a bus service. On the first day, 3,000 took the bus.”
The 32-seater bus is equipped with closed circuit television cameras (CCTVs) that are monitored from the transport office. Fifty per cent of seats are reserved for women passengers.
“The unmatched need of Patna has been fulfilled,” Agarwal said. “People are enjoying the ride because it is never crowded. Strict instructions have been issued not to crowd the buses. I’m getting reports that people vacate seats if they see women standing.”
Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC) buses serve 14 stops and now there are demands for the service in Hanuman Nagar and Kankargbagh were.
The patients going towards AIIMS expressed their happiness over the bus service.
One such passenger was Avinash Kumar. “Earlier, I had to hire an autorickshaw to go to AIIMS as there was no direct bus service,” Avinash said. “The autos would charge anything from Rs 200 to Rs 250. But now with the new service, I can reach the hospital at just Rs 15. The best part is that it stops just outside the OPD of AIIMS.”
Courtesy: The Telegraph
