The ideal, swift and fastest public transport Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) with i-buses has crashed. While the buses continue to run and ply in every four minutes, commuters cannot get on them anymore without a wait of 30 to 60 minutes at least.
The ideal, swift and fastest public transport Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) with i-buses has crashed. While the buses continue to run and ply in every four minutes, commuters cannot get on them anymore without a wait of 30 to 60 minutes at least.
The trouble for over 60,000 commuters regularly using i-buses daily is multiplied in monsoons, as the process of ticketing is faltering. Commuters are enraged, but helpless since many of them do not have a private vehicle in the city.
Some of the regular commuters attempted to complain to the authorities, but to no avail. “I had to wait for 1 hour today at Vijay Nagar station, just to get a ticket!” said Heena Verma, a raged commuter. She regularly uses the i-bus for going to her work, but has been facing these issues for a week now.
“I had to wait for 25 minutes to get the ticket at Satya Sai bus station and then, they gave me a ticket without a bar code,” Jignesh Sharma, a student of DAVV, said. He added that this created issues for him when he was getting in and out of the station.
“You have to keep waiting for the attendant to open the gates for you, because nobody has a barcode to sign in and sign out of bus stations,” added Kishore Iswe, a digital marketer. He added that the trouble with tickets double the commute time.
“They can just run the buses like city buses if they are failing to provide the quick transport promised,” Priya Thakur, an ranged student, said.
The BRTS was built considering that Indore’s population stood at 1.6 million in 2001, and is projected to be 4.2 million by 2025. It’s already over 3.5 million currently. However, the system despite regular updates is now failing.
Atal Indore City Transport Services Ltd (AiCTSL) managing the plying of buses and the stations in Indore fails to provide a solution as yet.
In explanation, the spokesperson said, “We are currently facing a network issue from the provider. Hence, the current updated system with barcodes is failing.” Further, the person explained that they are using the previous normal ticketing system till the network restores.
“However, we are testing the new machines for an hour or so every day, so maybe that’s the time, some commuters are experiencing a longer wait at the station,” the spokesperson added.
The trouble for over 60,000 commuters regularly using i-buses daily is multiplied in monsoons, as the process of ticketing is faltering. Commuters are enraged, but helpless since many of them do not have a private vehicle in the city.
Some of the regular commuters attempted to complain to the authorities, but to no avail. “I had to wait for 1 hour today at Vijay Nagar station, just to get a ticket!” said Heena Verma, a raged commuter. She regularly uses the i-bus for going to her work, but has been facing these issues for a week now.
“I had to wait for 25 minutes to get the ticket at Satya Sai bus station and then, they gave me a ticket without a bar code,” Jignesh Sharma, a student of DAVV, said. He added that this created issues for him when he was getting in and out of the station.
“You have to keep waiting for the attendant to open the gates for you, because nobody has a barcode to sign in and sign out of bus stations,” added Kishore Iswe, a digital marketer. He added that the trouble with tickets double the commute time.
“They can just run the buses like city buses if they are failing to provide the quick transport promised,” Priya Thakur, an ranged student, said.
The BRTS was built considering that Indore’s population stood at 1.6 million in 2001, and is projected to be 4.2 million by 2025. It’s already over 3.5 million currently. However, the system despite regular updates is now failing.
Atal Indore City Transport Services Ltd (AiCTSL) managing the plying of buses and the stations in Indore fails to provide a solution as yet.
In explanation, the spokesperson said, “We are currently facing a network issue from the provider. Hence, the current updated system with barcodes is failing.” Further, the person explained that they are using the previous normal ticketing system till the network restores.
“However, we are testing the new machines for an hour or so every day, so maybe that’s the time, some commuters are experiencing a longer wait at the station,” the spokesperson added.