Mumbai: Passengers may face bus shortage this summer

Representation Pic

Passengers may face state transport bus shortage this vacation season as plan to buy 2,200 new buses has been stalled over delay in signature by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is also the chairman of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), trade union leaders have alleged.

"As the chief minister has not signed the file for the funds required to purchase buses for the corporation, the purchase of 2,200 buses has been stalled. All this will obviously hit passengers and eventually also the employees. What is the reason behind not signing even after sending the file on time?" questioned trade union leader Shrirang Barge of ST Karmachari Congress.

"Nearly 10,000 buses of ST are in deplorable condition and the mechanical staff at depots are slogging with their repair work, but the buses are beyond repair. Also, bus drivers are struggling to run these pathetic buses and facing a lot of trouble while driving even short distances. It is also a public safety issue," he added.

"The MSRTC has approved a tender of 2,200 ready-made buses with body construction from Ashok Leyland Company. But the funds required for that have yet to come from the government as they are awaiting the final signature for the work order. Buses cannot be procured without work order for which funds are awaited," he said.

"Eventually, delays in payment leads to court cases by manufacturers and complicates things further. The file has been sent to Shinde's office much before the Code of Conduct, but still remains unsigned," he alleged. "Now all this will lead to problems during the next month when vacation begins," he said.

2,200
No of new buses yet to arrive