COMMUNICATIONS

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

State Transport: Among the public transport organisations the State Transport could be mentioned as the leading one. The State Transport undertaking has been extending its activities on an increasing scale. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation is owned and managed by the Government of Maharashtra as a public utility concern run on commercial lines.

The history of passenger transport in the Vidarbha region dates back to the year 1942 when M/S Mechanical Transport Ltd. started transport of passengers. This company sponsored the Nagpur Omnibus Company in 1943 under its managing agency. In the subsequent years the name of the company was changed to the Provincial Transport Company Ltd., and M/S Mechanical Transport continued to be the managing agents. However the Government assumed the managing agency rights of the M/S Mechanical Transport and reconstitued the Board of Directors. Upto 1955 the company functioned as a joint-stock company when the Government brought the same under its control and named it as 'the Provincial Transport Services'', in order to co-ordinate the activities of the three organisations, viz., the Bombay State Road Transport, the Marathwada State Transport Corporation and the Provincial Transport Services they were merged in 1961 into a single corporation viz., the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, Bombay.

At present State Transport services as well as those of a few private agencies operate in the division but nationalisation of the services on various routes is progressing fast, with a view to bringing all the routes under the operation of the State Transport. By the end of March 1969, the Akola and Washim depots had 76 and 43 vehicles respectively, operating on 112 routes.

The following statement gives the statistics of State Transport routes in the Akola district as on 31st March 1969.

continued..

contined..

continued

Depots.—The operations in Akola district were first started from Akola depot on 1st March 1963 with 18 vehicles operating on 17 routes with a total of 1,484.2 route kilometres. The process of nationalisation was rapid and by the end of March 1969 there were two depots in the district at Akola with 76 vehicles and Washim with 43 vehicles. In all 112 routes were in operation from these two depots with a total of 8,102.4 route kilometres. On an average 20,633 and 7,039 passengers were carried per day from each of these two depots, respectively.

The Akola State transport Division, of which Akola district forms a part was holding 222 buses plying on 201 routes with a total route length of 12,677 kilometres as an 31st March 1969. The buses put on road have on an average, a seating capacity of 49.8 excluding the seats of the driver and conductor. The average daily kilometres operated by these buses during March 1969 was 50,341 carrying, on an average, 57,263 passengers per day.

Light and heavy repairs of the buses are carried out at the divisional workshop which is situated at Akola. Further, after the operation of every 24,000 kilometres the vehicles are routed by depots to the divisional workshop for preventive maintenance. In addition, there are two depots in the district situated at Akola and Washim for daily maintenance of the vehicles. Regular daily and weekly servicing and 8,000 kilometres docking for maintenance are carried out in depots.

Amenities to the Public.—For the convenience of the travelling public the Corporation has been providing several amenities in the district. A bus station has been provided at Akola and a passenger shed at Washim. In addition, waiting rooms have been provided at each of these places. Refreshment rooms have also been provided at Akola and Wadegaon, besides pan and sugarcane stalls at Akola. Pick-up stands have been provided at Akola, Datala, Kapashi, Kutasaphata, Loni, Medshi, Rithad and Wadegaon.

Private Passenger Transport: The Maharashtra State Transport Corporation has extended its operations on a majority of routes. Private companies however serve the transport needs in some parts of the district. Formerly a number of routes were left exclusively for the private owners whereas on a few routes, the passenger traffic was shared between the State Transport buses and private services. This situation has now ceased to exist and State Transport has extended its services over a majority of routes.

The services rendered by the private buses are not upto the mark. Rules regarding safety of passengers, comforts and convenience are not properly observed. Overcrowding in buses is a frequent occurrence. The bus services, very often, are not regular.

Private companies work as private stage carriage operators, transport services on these routes could not be nationalised earner due to shortage of passenger vehicles, and shortage of financial resources for construction of bus stands, depots, workshops etc.

TOP