In a big development, Nitin Gadkari has declared that public transport like buses and taxis will be soon opened.
Nitin Gadkari is the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways in India.
Public Transport Will Be Opened Soon: Minister
He announced this major decision, after having a videoconferencing call with Bus and Car Operators Confederation of India, which represents lakhs of taxis and buses associated with Intercity travel, Intracity travel, School Transport, Employee Transport, Tour Operators, Taxi Cabs and Tourist Cabs.
However, the Minister clarified that adequate rules and norms related with social distancing will be strictly implemented. Sanitizers, masks, hand gloves can be made compulsory for public transport buses and taxis, as per the reports.
He didnt mention any date for this opening up of public transport, or any particular areas/zones where the public transport will be first opened.
Existing Norms Under Lockdown 3.0
After May 4th, lockdown phase 3 has started, wherein limited number of Ola and Uber cabs (which also comes under public transport) have been allowed to operate in Green and Orange Zones.
Besides, movement of trucks carrying essential items and agri-products are allowed all across the country, and no state can stop them.
And in some cities like Delhi and Bengaluru, Ola and Uber have been allowed to ply in red zones, only for medical emergencies. They are not allowed to run in Red Zone districts for any other purpose.
However, both Ola and Uber have reported very poor ride bookings in the Green and Orange Zone areas. Almost 3-4 times less bookings have been witnessed, even as the restrictions are eased in these zones where Ola and Uber have started their rides.
While Ola is now live in 100 cities (such as Cuttack, Guwahati, Daman, Jamshedpur, Kochi (green zone) as well as locations like Amritsar, Rohtak, Gurgaon and Visakhapatnam (orange zone)); Uber is now live in 25 cities such as Jamshedpur, Kochi, Cuttack and Guwahati (green zone) as well as locations like Amritsar, Rohtak, Gurugram and Visakhapatnam (orange zone).
This is a developing story, and we will keep you updated, as more details come in.
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