A well designed public transportation system forms the backbone of a city and its efficiency is crucial not just for the economy but for the wellbeing of the citizens as well.

There are studies which suggests that public transportation usage in smaller Indian cities is limited. It is possible that lack of demand for PT leads to underdeveloped infrastructure but vice versa may also be true. In fact a recent study under the Transport 4 All Challenge revealed that shortage of buses and low frequency are some of the major factors that drive people away from public transport. The issues related to unavailability of bus service have been continuously raised in many Indian cities.

Residents of Srinagar have been facing the problems of non availability of public transport services since a long time. Commuters have complained about acute shortage of public transport on several routes within the city, however, no efforts have been taken from authority’s side to solve this long pending problem. The problem gets further aggravated on the onset of winter when the main public transport services like mini buses and sumos start disappearing especially during the evening hours.

Similar is the case with public transport facility in Ganderbal in J&K. Shortage of reliable transportation facilities led to the protests by school students in the city as they were unable to reach on time. College students in Hyderabad are also facing similar problems due to shrinking bus fleet. Efficient public transportation is an essential element of sustainable mobility and in order to encourage the commuters to opt for public transport, it is important for the authorities to provide reliable transport services with adequate number of fleet.

Is your city also facing a shortage in public transport services? Would you use public transport if it was made available?

To know more about shortage in Srinagar, read.