To squeeze transport staff, Govt lets private players loose

Over 26K private vehicles made to run on govt routes on Friday
A few commuters left stranded at Mysuru Road Satellite Bus Stand due to the transport strike in Bengaluru on Friday | Shriram BN
A few commuters left stranded at Mysuru Road Satellite Bus Stand due to the transport strike in Bengaluru on Friday | Shriram BN

BENGALURU: While the transport corporation employees have gone on an indefinite strike, the State Government has taken measures to reduce inconvenience to thousands of commuters and is encouraging private players to ply vehicles on government bus routes.As it is a second Saturday today and with Ugadi and Ambedkar Jayanti on Tuesday and Wednesday, there has been a huge demand for public transport buses across the state. 

Government sources said over Thursday and Friday, 669 and 918 transport corporation drivers turned up for work. On Wednesday, the government allowed 11,335 private vehicles to run, on Thursday, it went up to 26,271 vehicles and on Friday, there was a further increase to 26,640 buses. The government has been asking more private players to run their vehicles to reduce the crippling effect of the strike on hapless people.

Government sources said that in Bengaluru alone, they used 519 private vehicles and buses, and they want to increase the numbers. In Bengaluru Rural, 970 private vehicles were made to ply. The highest number of private vehicles were used in Bidar district as 4,180 buses hit the road. In Belagavi, the transport department got the services of 310 vehicles and it has been pressurising the district administration to increase the numbers. 

In Ballari, 642 private vehicles were used, while in Chikkamagaluru, 2,655 private vehicles hit the road on Friday. In Chikkaballapur, the government managed 2,068 vehicles and most of these were pressed to connect daily commuters to Bengaluru. In Hassan, 1,000 such vehicles were put into service, and in Kodagu the department managed to get the services of 2,125 vehicles, which is a large number, considering that it is a tiny district. There was the least number of complaints from commuters here, the sources said.

In Vijayapura, 2,470 private vehicles plied on Friday, and there is pressure from commuters to increase the numbers as it is a large district. In Tumakuru and Ramanagaram, from where a large number of people travel to Bengaluru considering the proximity to the capital, 1,065 and 1,177 private vehicles were organised. 

The State Government has refused to give in to the demands of transport employees, saying it has met eight out of 10 of their demands, and despite the Covid situation, it has considered giving an eight per cent hike in their salaries.

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