Transport department of Tripura has abolished the existing permit based plying of auto-rickshaws in Agartala city and instead introduced meter installed autos allowing the auto-rickshaws to ferry passengers freely in Agartala Municipal Corporation areas.
Earlier, the auto rickshaws were bound to ply in certain roads for which a permit is granted from the transport department. In the first phase, meters have been installed in 1,571 auto-rickshaws, Transport minister Pranajit Singha Roy said.
He said, “in the year 2019, we took the decision to introduce meter autos in the state but owing to the Covid 19 induced lockdowns, implementation got halted. However, as the situation gradually stumbled back to normalcy we have started the implementation”.
According to Roy, this is an ambitious step to bring reforms in the state’s transport sector. “We have to evolve with the new systems. Through this move, commuters will be able to board in auto rickshaws from any point of the city and hire the vehicle for desired destination”, he added.
Later speaking to the media persons, Roy lamented that public transport buses started by state owned Tripura Road Transport Corporation are not being used by the daily commuters. “A total of 32 buses were introduced in Agartala city. But, most of the contractors have surrendered the buses citing that passengers are less interested to board on TRTC buses and prefer private means of transportation. We are still running buses on the Airport-Agartala city route but the feedback from the drivers is not encouraging”, said Roy.
