Haryana clears decks for more buses,double-deckers in Gurgaon

The department,these officials said,plans to introduce a range of public transport vehicles: from mini-buses to semi-low floor buses. And the double-deckers,they added,would be the next step,depending on the feasibility.

State Transport Commissioner Anand Mohan Sharan said the government plans to assign the task of preparing the “techno-feasibility” report to a private player. “We will decide how to proceed to the next level after studying the survey,” he said.

Sharan said the buses could be completely state-owned,or privately-owned,or can be run on a public-private co-ownership model — the final decision would be taken after the survey is done. The study will also help chalk out a route on which these buses would be run.

Keeping tourism in mind,the government is looking at making the double-decker buses open-top,“on the lines of BEST buses is Mumbai,” Sharan said.

He said the plan at present is to add 30 to 50 low-floor buses to the existing fleet by this March. “We understand the urgent need for an intra-city transport,and are trying our best to improve it,” he said.

A report submitted by the Urban Mass Transit Company (UMTC) in October 2008 says the present mode of transport in Gurgaon is mainly dependent on buses and private vehicles. But the lack of adequate public transportation system — along with the population explosion,limited accessibility and congestion — has seen a rapid increase in number of private vehicles and other modes like shared auto-rickshaws.

The population of Gurgaon is expected to go up to 43 lakh by 2021. By 2031,59 lakh people are estimated to be employed in the city.