Karam Prakash
Tribune News Service
Patiala, October 1
Though the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) has 14 Volvo buses, none is being run within the state. All Volvo buses are being run between Patiala or Ludhiana and Delhi only. Consequently, all key routes within the state and Chandigarh are dominated by private operators.
On the Chandigarh-Bathinda route, a prominent private bus operator runs 10 Volvo buses a day. The same operator runs eight such buses a day between Chandigarh and Amritsar.
Only on Delhi route
All our 14 integral (Volvo) buses are run only on the Delhi route. Currently, we don’t run any integral bus within the state or to and from Chandigarh. Amandeep Singh Tiwana, GM, Administration, PRTC
PRTC officials said they had not applied for a permit to run Volvo within the state. A PRTC official said, “A majority of the private Volvo operators do not have bus permits. They have only tourist permits.” Sources said many private transport companies, owned by politicians, have been given permission by the successive governments to run buses during peak hours, ignoring the state-run PRTC. Transport Minister Amrinder Singh Raja Warring could not be contacted.
More buses to be purchased: Warring
Sangrur, October 1
Transport Minister Amrinder Singh Raja Warring visited the Sangrur bus stand and directed officials to improve the facilities. He reviewed the cleanliness at the bus stand announced purchase of more buses.
“The tender for 800 new buses has been issued by the Transport Department, of which 400 will start running within a month,” he said. — TNS
No PRTC Volvo service within Punjab, private players rule roost
{$excerpt:n}
