Neeraj Bagga Amritsar, July 19 The 31-km Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) route doesn’t have any halt points at the major intersections of the city — Bhandari Railway Overbridge (ROB) and the Hall Gate. A large number of commuters, who come out of the walled city from the Hall Gate and head towards it, can’t take the services of BRTS buses as these don’t take halt there. Gurleen Kaur, a student of Khalsa College for Women, said the air-conditioned buses offered a convenient ride but she, like hundreds of people from the walled city, can’t use it. Another commuter, Amardeep Singh, said the nearest bus stoppage was at Gha Mandi Chowk near Rambagh on the elevated road. Since the elevated road is one way, one can not walk back to reach the ROB. Similarly, after deboarding on the elevated road, a considerable walk is required from Gha Mandi to reach the Hall Gate. It is a malady that the 31-km route of the project, built at the cost of Rs 545 crore, does not offer any convenience to tourists coming from the railway station to the Golden Temple. Most of the buses, out of 97 being plied on its longest route on the GT road, pass through the ROB and from outside the Hall Gate. Inderjeet Singh Chawla, CEO, BRTS, said they would mull introducing halt points on both sides of the overbridge which would offer easy access to those at the Hall Gate as well. At present, there are 45 stoppages. Of late, commuters are once again preferring the BRTS as the average daily footfall has reached 25,000, he said, adding that students of educational institutes on the GT road were being given concessional ride. Students can have free ride by getting a card prepared by paying just Rs 50 for a complete academic session.

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