PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE / Dehradun
Passengers travelling from Dehradun to Delhi have expressed disappointment with the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation’s (UTC) service, citing instances where they were asked to shift to alternative buses due to low occupancy. They alleged that despite booking tickets for early morning buses, they were requested by UTC representatives to transfer to different buses with later departure times because not enough seats were filled. This situation caused significant inconvenience for the passengers, who are urging the authorities to reassess the bus schedules.
Talking to The Pioneer, one of the passengers, Dhananjay Raturi said that he had booked an online ticket for a UTC Volvo bus scheduled to depart at 7 AM on a Friday from Dehradun to Delhi. However, upon arriving at the bus, he discovered that about three seats had been reserved on the bus, including his. Two of the reservations were made online, while one was purchased at the counter. Due to the low occupancy, the bus representative cancelled the trip to Delhi and informed him that he would need to take an alternative bus scheduled to leave at 8 PM.
Raturi expressed his frustration, stating that while he understands the decision was made due to low occupancy, it is unfair to commuters like him. He suggested that the authorities should consider adjusting the early morning bus schedules instead. Unfortunately, the representative of the bus dismissed his suggestion and told him to contact the authorities directly. He emphasised that during the winter months, many people prefer to travel later in the day to avoid the cold, which results in early morning commuters facing challenges when low occupancy leads to cancelled trips. Raturi also added that when he attempted to call the toll-free number listed on the UTC website to address this issue, no one answered.
Another commuter, a female passenger, expressed similar concerns. She stated that the change in bus schedule had caused her to be late for her office in Delhi, urging the authorities to act on this matter.
When ‘The Pioneer’ correspondent attempted to reach the officials for their response regarding this issue, they did not answer the call.
