The Gurgaon bus depot and state-owned buses would soon undergo a makeover. Rohit Yadav — the 15th General Manager of Gurgaon bus depot in 12 months — has rather ambitious plans to transform the depot, make Haryana Roadways buses more efficient and improve passenger satisfaction. Yadav said he also plans to transform the depot, presently surrounded by slums and hawkers, into a world-class bus bay. "We are auctioning about 20 buses that are lying in the junkyard to Haryana Roadways Engineering Corporation. We are also in talks with forest authorities to plant about 700 trees in and around the depot," he said. The authorities are also in talks with food and beverage companies to open outlets at the depot. Yadav promised the changes would be visible within a week. For the first time, a 24×7 helpline number would be set up. "State-run buses in Gurgaon have been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. In three days, we will have a helpline number, in association with BSNL, on which passengers can register their complaints," Yadav said. Passengers can also lodge complaints against drivers for rash driving on the helpline number. If three complaints are received against a driver, his route would be changed. Plans to introduce a bio-metric system to log the attendance of drivers and conductors are also underway. According to sources, the bus depot has clocked up losses worth crores, of which Rs 8 crore has been incurred by private buses. "There are 50-60 private buses which use the depot. Many of them do not have permits and do not pay fee to the depot. These buses will be impounded by Haryana Roadways inspectors if they are unable to produce permits," a source said. For buses plying on highways, a computerised system will be introduced. “Only when a driver has punched in his ‘in’ and ‘out’ timings, he would be allowed to refill the bus,” Yadav said. Gurgaon Roadways, at present, has a fleet of 123 buses, of which only 100 are operational. Of these, 65 per cent run on city roads while the rest ply on highways, of which 20 are Volvo air-conditioned buses. "We have an extreme shortage of staff, be it drivers, conductors or maintenance staff in the depot, which is why our buses are not in good condition," Yadav, who has written to the state roadways authorities about the problems, said. To offset losses, Gurgaon Roadways will soon discontinue its Volvo service to the airport. "We pay Rs 12 everytime our buses stop at the airport and we get only 2-3 passengers per trip. So every month, Gurgaon Roadways suffers losses to the tune of Rs 5 lakh because of this," Yadav said.
