Tuk-tuk Service in Chandigarh

The much-awaited pink-coloured day and night LPG driven Tuk-tuk service (autos) was launched by UT Administrator SF Rodrigues on the State Transport Authority office in Sector 18.

Apart from this, cheques were also given for ordinary LPG-driven autos too. A customer can call a Tuk-tuk at his doorsteps by dialing 4242424.

This vehicle can be hired on the road too. A Tuk-tuk will charge Rs 10 for first km and Rs 8 for subsequent km and the concept will be implemented in phased manner.

While distributing cheques to the loanees for ordinary autos, Rodrigues said it was part of the multi-dimensional empowerment programme for the below poverty line persons, Scheduled Castes, physically challenged, women and members of the minority communities.

He said the process of the Mass Rapid Transport System in the tricity was on the fast track and Sector 17 ISBT location would be its nodal point.

Appreciating the contribution of the Delhi Finance Corporation (DFC) in giving loans on easy term, the administration has launched a partnership initiative programme and asked the LPG Auto Operator Union to be active partners in this endeavour.

Ram Niwas, Home Secretary, UT, in his welcome address, said as already agreed, there would be no diesel/petrol autorickshaw after August 31.

Vandana Disodia, Secretary, State Transport Authority, said the DFC would extend financial assistance to 500 LPG auto operators in Chandigarh on easy terms.

On the lines of the registering and licensing branch, the UT State Transport Authority (STA) is introducing a single-window system at its office in Sector 18.

A proposal to this effect was submitted to the Chandigarh administration today. Disclosing this, Secretary, STA, Vandana Disodia said: “We plan to have the computerised single-window system in place by August-end. The civil work is nearing completion and computers have been arranged.

The department also plans to provide ramps for the disabled and adequate parking and sitting arrangement for the public. The building will be totally air-conditioned and a generator set will also be in place to provide for failure of electricity.”

The proposal draws strength and outlines from a study conducted by the Pricewaterhouse Coopers which assessed that the STA needs to use information technology and should avail itself of the benefits of information and communication tools to bring about paper-free office culture.

To be implemented in a phased manner, the project has been divided into three phases - conceptualisation, business case development and project implementation.

The move gets impetus from the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) that aims at creating a citizen-centric environment for governance. The Planning Commission has also allocated funds as additional central assistance to all the States and UTs for assessing their capacity building needs and for preparing e-Governance and capacity building roadmaps.

To streamline the public transport service between Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali, the Chandigarh administration has drafted a plan to run around 1,200 AC and non-AC radio taxis and 1,500 LPG autorickshaws soon.

It has been agreed upon with Haryana and Punjab transport departments to introduce 200 AC taxis and equal number of non-AC taxis. The taxis would be white with the insignia of the open hand. The AC cab service at Rs 15 per km is already on schedule, while the non-AC service at Rs 8 per km is going to start soon.

Secretary, State Transport Authority, Vandana Disodia, said everything had been finalised and the service would be started in a day or two. As soon as they got the draft policy, permission would be given to non-AC cabs.

A decision in this regard has also been taken at a meeting attended by the State Transport Commissioner, Haryana, the Director Transport, Chandigarh, and the GM of Haryana Roadways to countersign the permits of autorickshaws.

The number of autorickshaws to be countersigned by the respective states and the UT has been fixed at 500 each. The administration also plans to introduce radio autorickshaw service, wherein dialling a four-digit number would bring eco-friendly autorickshaws, fitted with the GPS system, on your doorstep for Rs 5 per km. The Centre has given its nod for 100 AC Volvo buses and 60 non-AC buses for Chandigarh.

Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Government Transport Workers Union yesterday protested against the administration’s move of entering into an agreement with neighbouring states. Raj Kumar, general secretary of the union, said the administration had shown discrepancies while signing the agreement with the Haryana government.

“As per the agreement with Punjab, no state-owned bus would ply on the Chandigarh route beyond the ISBT-17 or ISBT-43. But Haryana buses have been allowed to ply on city routes,” he said.