Punjab to introduce city bus service in 5 cities

Chandigarh, July 30 (UNI) The Punjab Government is all set to introduce City Bus Service in Amritsar, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala, with public-private partnership, to check increasing traffic of personal vehicles in the state.

This was disclosed here today by Mr D S Bains, Principal Secretary of Local Government after discussing at length with all the commissioners of Municipal Corporations in the state.

He asked all the commissioners to identify land for bus depots and for parking areas in their respective districts. To avoid inconvenience to passengers at bus stands, GPS satellite system would also be introduced which would provide information to passengers regarding the location of the bus.

Mr Bains also said that Ludhiana Commissioner informed that the corporation has identified 8.75 acres of land at Dhandari Kalan for the bus depot and there was a proposal for multi-storied parking at Feroze Gandhi Market.

Mr Bains informed that in Amritsar, 2.5 acres land outside the walled city could be used for construction of the bus depot. The land could be centrally located with parking in the basement and the structure may be used for commercial purpose. The Amritsar commissioner has also suggested that the land between Majitha Road and Verka Road would be ideal for a bus depot.

He further informed that land in Patiala was available in Kabari market for multistoried parking. Municipal Commissioner's of Amritsar and Ludhiana would finalize the land for Jalandhar.

In Jalandhar, 1.6 acres of land adjacent to Transport Nagar and 2.5 acres of land in Beant Singh Park had been identified for a bus workshop.

Mr Bains further said that the state Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd would float tenders for ticketing, passes, bus stand, GPS satellite system, passenger information system and advertisements. It would also look into the construction of model bus stops.

Besides this the Corporation should also prepare detailed project reports for Patiala and Bathinda for City Bus Service, he added .

UNI