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With the nation raging over migrant workers having to trek back on foot to their hometowns thousands of kilometres away due to the lockdown, private bus and car operators have urged the Centre to allow public transport — buses and taxis — to function under new safety guidelines to help them reach home quickly and safely.
Intercity buses, they pointed out, ferry approximately 10 crore people per day. With such a capacity and additional support from Indian Railways, the woes of migrant labourers can be addressed in 10-15 days, said Prasanna Patwardhan, President, Bus & Car Operators Confederation Of India (BOCI).
In the pre-lockdown days, over 90 per cent of the people used road transport daily and, of that, nearly 70 per cent used buses, said Patwardhan. There are over 17 lakh operational buses on Indian roads, of which about 1.50 lakh are operated by various State transport undertakings. The remaining 15.5 lakh buses, accounting for almost 30 crore passenger trips, are run by private operators.
“Being a labour-intensive sector, we provide employment to millions of local as well as migrant workers,” he said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Due to the urgency with which the lockdown was imposed, migrant labourers could not plan their travel back home, he observed, adding that many are still struggling to do do.
Call for task force
Patwardhan suggested the setting up of a task force — with representatives from the government, public and private bus operators and the Railways — to make a coordinated plan.
Anjit Bora, Vice-President (North-East), BOCI, said the government should allow private buses to ply with 75 per cent occupancy. For instance, in the North-East, over 1,500 private buses are operational, and nearly 95 per cent of the people use them, he said.
In Assam, the State Transport Corporation is running buses with 50 per cent occupancy, he said. The balance 50 per cent can be given to private players to operate under subsidised rates, he added.
“We are daily service operators. If we are not allowed to ply our buses it would be difficult for us to survive,” said Bora.
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