Saturday, 13 JANUARY 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Transport department will operate 320 buses and 520 mini buses in Dehradun to prevent traffic congestion caused by the operation of large numbers of inefficient public transport vehicles. The city buses will operate on 10 trunk routes and mini buses will operate on feeder routes to ensure connectivity of rural areas to the main city in Dehradun, the secretary of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) and RTO of Dehradun division Sunil Sharma said. In a Press conference in the regional transport office on Friday, he said that the department is taking measures to minimise traffic congestion on the main roads of the city. Considering this, the RTA has decided to allow the operation of only GPS installed public transport vehicles on Clock Tower to Dilaram Chowk, Survey Chowk, Araghar Chowk and Bindalpul Chowk areas. These areas will be declared as traffic-free zones. “This will help the authorities concerned to monitor the movement of the public transport vehicles. It will also let the police and transport department know about traffic violations like wrong parking and vehicle operation in the wrong area among others. It will help to take appropriate action against the vehicle operators on time,” the RTO said. The department will also issue new stage carriage permits for the operation of city buses on Premnagar to Shimla Bypass- ISBT route. Besides this, the department will also send a proposal to develop new roads in the form of cluster in the Raipur- Balawala area to start public transport vehicle service there. Besides this, he said that the traffic police of Dehradun and Haridwar districts will ensure that e-rickshaws do not operate against the rules between 8 AM and 8 PM in restricted areas. “It will be the personal responsibility of the respective superintendent of police (traffic) to ensure e-rickshaws operate only between 8 PM to 8 AM and impose a fine of Rs 500 to Rs 2,000 in case of first three violations. The police can suspend the permit after three violations,” he said. Sharma stated that considering the demand of locals to provide transportation from semi-rural to city areas, the department will issue contract carriage permits to operate on such routes in Dehradun, Haridwar, Rishikesh and Roorkee as per the requirement. He said that the department has also talked to Vikram unions to ensure their operation from semi-rural areas to main city areas rather than operating on main roads in Dehradun and Haridwar.
