Jaipur: The state govt’s austerity push urging the residents to use public transport clashes with the ground reality in Jaipur, with the city lacking an adequate network to support such a shift.Officials from the transport and local self-govt departments said the number of govt and private city buses has steadily declined, while many key roads, including the all-important JLN Marg, still has no bus routes or shared e-rickshaw options.“For many residents, the nearest pickup point is miles away. With summer temperatures crossing 40 degrees Celsius, walking long distances to access limited services is impractical, making the govt appeal difficult to implement in daily urban life,” stated a senior transport department official.Figures available with the transport department show that the Jaipur City Transport Services Limited (JCTSL) bus numbers have gone down from 400 (as on March 31, 2023) to 100 now. This forced the corporation to reduce the routes and merge a few into one single route.Similarly, the number of private minibuses has also reduced to a little over 500 buses from 1,124 buses (as on March 31, 2023), officials said, further limiting options for commuters seeking alternatives to private vehicles.“All buses went off the road after completing 15 years of service. While JCTSL is in the process of procuring e-buses, several minibus owners preferred to invest in other businesses rather than procure new buses,” another transport official added.Officials said metro rides could be a good option, but the service is limited to only a particular stretch of the city connecting the city’s southwestern fringes with the Walled City in northeast.With constraints across bus and metro services, officials said the only solution for residents is to purchase e-cars and save money on diesel and fuel. They said most commercial cabs in Jaipur are of hybrid mode and can run on both CNG and petrol or diesel, while a huge section of autos in Jaipur either runs on CNG or battery.“The problem is that in a city like Jaipur you cannot promote cycling as an option. Most roads across the city don’t have bays for safe cycling. Second, it’s almost impossible to ride on city roads from 9 am till 5 -6 pm owing to the scorching sun,” another official added.FOR GPHX, IF NEEDEDMission IMPOSSIBLE? *Number of city buses reduced significantly in the last three years *Several key areas and stretches across Jaipur don’t have a bus route *Metro services are limited to only one part of the city *After zone segregation, shared e-rickshaws not allowed free run across the city* Heat conditions prevent people from walking long stretches
