Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 10

Even though the restrictions on public transport were removed around two months ago, public and private bus operators are yet to recover from the Covid blow as the number of passengers being allowed in a bus is still very low.

The buses being operated by the Punjab Roadways have registered extremely low passengers. The other operators in the public and private sector are also facing similar problems.

The government, after initial relaxations in the lockdown, had allowed the buses to operate at 50 per cent capacity. However, with time, even these restrictions were removed.

The bus operators said people are still afraid of travelling in buses. “The fear of contracting the virus is still visible. We are running with one third occupancy on most of the local routes. The situation is even worst in Himachal. The HP Government has imposed several restrictions. They don’t allow more than 25 passengers in a 52-seater bus. The passengers also avoiding to buses,” said Gurpreet Singh, a bus conductor.

The private operators too have limited their operations keeping in view of less number of passengers. It has also been seen that bus operators and passengers are also not following the safety guidelines as recommended by the government. The bus staff and passengers do not wear masks as required.

As per the government directives, wearing face mask is compulsory and flouting the orders could result in Rs 1,000 fine. Most of the passengers are reluctant to wear masks. Even the bus employees who were seen wearing face masks till August have are now showing a laidback attitude about following the protocol. “Most of the time drivers wear mask to avoid the challan,” said another roadways employee.