Passes for AC buses a must in summers,say city commuters

Simran Kaur,one of the general pass holders who daily travels from Panchkula to Sector 22,Chandigarh,feels that introduction of passes in AC buses would be a welcome gesture. “It will be a big relief for commuters,as they would have an option to use AC buses during inclement weather”.

At present,CTU has provision of two passes,student pass and general pass of Rs 60 and Rs 350,respectively. But,it is applicable only on non-AC buses.

Around 12,000 general passes and over 9,000 student passes were issued last year. Figures indicate that it is a profitable venture.

Another commuter,Rajpal Singh,who works at a private bank in Sector 17,Chandigarh,said that CTU should expand the AC bus routes in summers.

The demands of the commuters were echoed by P C Sanghi,Chairman,Federation of Sector Welfare Association,Chandigarh,who said,“We have approached the administration in this regard several times,but the response was not encouraging”. He added that CTU must introduce passes for women and senior citizens in AC buses.

T P S Phoolka,Director of Chandigarh Transport Undertaking said,“We will think of conceiving the idea of pass system in AC buses,but at present there is no policy in the pipeline”. He informed that CTU was planning to expand the routes of its AC fleet. “We are also in the process of adding more AC buses to our existing fleet of CTU buses,” Phoolka added.