No air conditioning trips for passengers this summer in Amritsar sans Metro busses

Since the buses have been off the road for the last nine months, locals will undoubtedly miss out on summertime trips on the air-conditioned Metro bus service. There is little chance that it will be revived anytime soon since neither the opposition leader nor any elected official has decided to bring attention to the matter so far.

The construction of the city’s Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) corridors came at a cost of Rs 550 crore. It seems that the corridors are no longer necessary. In addition, 92 Metro buses are starting to collect dust.

The Metro buses were very well-liked by the locals since they provided a cheap, pleasant journey. Thirty thousand people used the Metro buses every day during the last summer season before the service was shut down in August.

Lovely, a college student who commuted daily from Verka to Khalsa College, said, “I had to leave the college because my daily travel costs went from Rs 20 to Rs 80.” Lovely’s mother, a domestic worker, is unable to provide him with Rs 80 each day.

She wasn’t the only one who, in order to save money on transportation, favored Metro busses over auto-rickshaws or even motorcycles. It’s difficult to ride a bike because of the dust and pollution. I always stayed fresh since I took the Metro bus to work,” said Rakesh, a chef at a motel close to GND University.

Many locals find it odd that no prominent figure from either the opposition or the governing party has raised the matter. Since the Metro bus was the only form of air-conditioned public transportation that the city’s citizens had access to, they have urged that service be restored.