HRTC taxis for senior, disabled to be on Shimla roads soon

The taxis run by Himachal Road Transport Corporation in Shimla to facilitate senior citizens and disabled persons would start operation in Shimla from next month.
The taxis had stopped running in Shimla after the High Court had taken a serious view of HRTC taxis being run like transport services in sealed and restricted areas and passed the orders on September 22 directing the government to use these vehicles for carrying senior citizens and disabled persons.
Acting swiftly on High Court orders, the state government had made it clear that only senior citizens and disabled persons would be allowed to travel in these vehicles.

The taxis will start running again from next month, Transport minister G S Bali today said after flagging off the Flying Squad vehicle of HRTC.
Bali also said that the state would get 800 new buses by New Year under JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission), which would run within the state and interstate routes.
There would be only one stoppage of these buses and fares would be fixed. The passengers terminating the journey before the fixed stop would have to pay the full fare, he added.

Bali said that there was no move to reduce the bus fares in view of a cut in diesel prices and said that the prices had been increased by Rs 10 per litre in the recent past an in case there is further cut in prices, the government would consider reducing the fares.

Bali who is also a member of cabinet sub committee for Resource Mobilisation said that drastic steps were needed to tackle the precarious financial situation.
He suggested that reimbursement of medical bills of employees should be rationalised, loss making PSUs should be merged or closed and the state should accept the amount of Rs 1,800 crore on account of arrears in power share in BBMB projects.