GUWAHATI: The state of the present bus shelters in Guwahati is average as they are just places for advertisements. They don’t have route markings on them and even the location of the shelter is not mentioned. If you are in a bus shelter you won’t know which buses will stop at the shelter. As we are busy launching bio-toilets and water ATMs the city is also witnessing the construction of AC bus shelters. Between all this G Plus engaged with its readers with a poll where they were asked whether they were happy with the present bus shelters in the city?
It seems that Guwahatians did not care much about the bus shelters as almost 41% of the 935 respondents said that they were okay with the shelters. The majority 59% said that they were not happy with the state of the bus shelters in the city. The poll findings revealed problems that the citizens face on a daily basis while trying to board buses from these shelters.
Respondents who were not happy with the shelters said that the buses don’t stop at many of the shelters. They just move to the area where they can easily get more passengers. The favourite spot is the starting of a flyover from both the sides. The buses will stop there no matter where the shelters are. Most of the times, those waiting at the shelters have to rush towards the bus as the buses compete against each other for passengers. This not only leads to blocking the flyover entry but also slows down the traffic as cars come to a halt behind the buses that wait there for passengers.
Other said that the bus shelters are mostly surrounded with shops selling tobacco products and one can see people smoking and spitting around it. The whole idea of a shelter is lost when you stand at such a place said the respondents. The respondents also pointed out that bus shelters are refuge to homeless people who use it as a temporary shed. People don’t protest much as they use the shelter for just a few minutes till the bus arrives and the situation continues. There should be stricter rules so that a bus shelter is not misused for other purposes and is solely used for the benefit of the commuters.
Many of the respondents felt that it is high time Guwahati bus shelters are turned into proper shelters that cater to the needs of a metropolitan city. The respondents seemed to be aware of the standard of bus shelters in other cities of the country and questioned why Guwahati didn’t have similar shelters. The respondents also said that there should be some amount of uniformity in the shelters and they should look like bus shelters of a modern city with ample space, comfortable seating, proper signage, lighting and protection from rains. Also, the respondents pointed out that the city still lacks sufficient number of bus shelters at majority of the places and people have to stand in open waiting for the buses.
