NMRC halts operation of 25 buses due to lack of funds

Twenty-five of the 50 of Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) buses have stopped operating as the operators have not been paid for the past three months, a report in The Times of India (TOI) stated.

As per operators, the NMRC has not paid the dues because of lack of funds. But NMRC officials argue that the payments were stopped due to irregularities of services provided by the operators.

The dues have heaped up to ₹10 crores, because of which he is unable to pay for the busses, the operator said.

The residents of Noida Extension were highly affected due to the non-availability of the buses. All the buses on the route connecting the area to Sector 51 metro station have stopped operating.

Most buses in the region run from Sector 51 metro station to Gaur City, Ace City and Eros Sampoornam. Some buses on the Botanical Garden-Pari Chowk route have also stopped operating.

According to the operator, the NMRC has to pay a monthly amount of ₹3 crores through the Noida Authority. This payment is made for the operation, maintenance and repair of the buses. The ticket revenue, meanwhile, is collected by the NMRC, TOI reported.

TOI quoted Kartar Singh, general manager for Empire transport saying, “With no money coming in since November, we’ve been trying to use our own funds to maintain the buses as it is an essential service. But, we don’t have funds to maintain these buses anymore. If buses are not repaired at night, they cannot operate the next day. We are continuously asking NMRC to release money so that we can start repairing the buses.”

Twenty-five buses have gone off roads since February 5.

Ritu Maheshwari, managing director, NMRC was not aware of the fact that 25 buses are not operating.

The TOI report quotes Maheshwari as saying, “There are serious irregularities and the operation is not viable anymore. They have been changing drivers without information and many drivers have been found without valid licences. We’ve sent over 15 notices and an inquiry is on, due to which payment has been stopped, and not because of lack of funds.”

NMRC buses are the main source of convince for residents of Noida Extension due to lack of any other mode of transport. Due to the tussle between the operators and NRMC officials, regular commuters are disturbed by the chaos.

“There is no proper connectivity for Noida Extension residents anyway, even though there are lakhs of people living here. These buses were our only option. Isn’t it the government’s responsibility to provide public transportation in areas where they are selling flats?”, said a daily commuter, Sandeep Singh.