There are rules for everything and a department like the transport department has so much power that if it wants the public of Guwahati and entire Assam can get the best of the public transport and register very few accidents. Assam is performing very poorly in maintaining road safety and the deadly accident at Khanapara on the night of Diwali is just one example to remind us of this reality. Other than road safety, public transport scenario is also very poor in Assam and the transport department looks like it is not serious about the issue.
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Despite court orders the transport department has failed to implement meter systems in the auto rickshaws in the state. The Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) launched app-based cab service claiming that the department will combat the irregularities of app-based services like Ola and Uber. Ironically, the ASTC app-based service is also nothing new and none of the drivers of any app-based cab services could be regulated by the department. City buses have the liberty of waiting at bus stops for whatever time they want because they are not enforced or regulated regularly.
Shared taxis can overload and harass the passengers because the overloading rules are hardly checked. Drunken driving is checked mostly during occasions and that too becomes a publicity stunt for transport minister and some top departmental officials. The department is “not serious” for improving the scenario in Assam.
