Lukewarm response to BRTS service on Batala Road

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 15

More buses have been inducted in order to expand the bus rapid transit system (BRTS). These buses will ply from Railway Station to Verka on Batala Road.

Amritsar Metro Bus, the company operating the BRTS scheme, started two busses on Batala Road yesterday. However, the metro buses have failed to get passengers on this route.

Separate elevated lane has been constructed for metro buses. The new buses will run from Celebration Mall to Verka Canal. There are three stations — Vijay Nagar, Jawahar Nagar and Musatfabad — on the elevated road.

The BRTS authorities have provided stairs and installed electronic lifts on every stoppage. Despite the good service, passengers are not ready to shift from auto-rickshaws to metro bus. In an interaction some passengers claimed that buses were not as frequent as auto-rickshaws. So they preferred three-wheelers, they added.

It has been observed that a bus comes at the BRTS stoppage after half an hour wait. These buses have been ferrying only a few passengers. The infrastructure at ticket counters is inadequate. Moreover, the BRTS lane is yet to be cleared. Residents park their vehicles on the lane. In the absence of proper check at entry points auto-rickshaws and two-wheeler owners are also using the BRTS lane.

Ashwani Narang, a supervisor at Amritsar Metro Bus, the company operating BRTS, said, “More buses will be on road soon. We have planned to start proper service on Batala Road from Monday.”

The ruling alliance inaugurated the BRTS project a few days before implementation of the election code keeping in view the upcoming Assembly poll. In its first phase, Amritsar Metro Bus started six buses from railway station to India Gate (Attari Road). Now, the authorities have inducted a fleet of 20 more buses under the BRTS project.