Commuters hassled as roadways employees’ strike hits bus service

Commuters were an inconvenienced lot as the strike called by Punjab Roadways, Punbus, PRTC Contract Workers’ Union kept buses largely off the road.

Unaware of the three-day strike call, which began on Monday, passengers were left stranded on the bus stand, stops and had to wait for hours as only private buses plied on the roads.

Meanwhile, elderly commuters and women with children were seen carrying their luggage from one place to another in the hope of getting an alternate means of transport.

Since many offices were closed on account of Parkash Purab of Guru Gobind Singh, the impact was relatively low.

“Women, particularly, bore the brunt of strike as travel is free in these buses and they prefer this mode of transport,” said Resham Kaur of Pabhat village in Zirakpur who had come to the Patiala Chowk to board a bus to Rajpura.

At Kharar, many students were seen waiting outside the bus stop with their luggage.

Private taxi and autorickshaw drivers, meanwhile, saw a spurt in customers.

While the regular employees of the transport services worked as usual, a majority of the staff being contractual or outsourced, services meant that the serives were hit badly. In total, around 2,500 buses from 27 depots in the state remained off the roads today.

Punjab Roadways, Punbus, PRTC Contract Workers’ Union president Resham Singh Gill said around 8,000 contractual employees are participating in the strike.

Striking employees said their demand for regularisation of jobs and a salary hike have remained unmet for a long time, adding that the strike will continue till Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar assures them of a resolution.

“The union has been asking for the addition of new buses to the PRTC and Punbus fleet, as it could improve its revenue rather than paying private players through the Kilometre scheme. Currently, there are 70 per cent private buses and 30 per cent public sector buses on the routes. It shouldbe other way round,” Resham Singh Gill, Punjab Roadways, Punbus, PRTC Contract Workers’ Union president, had recently said.

He had further noted, “Around 400 government buses are more than 15 years old and are not running for the past three years. In 2021, around 800 new buses were added to the fleet after that not a single bus has been added.”