From a Correspondent

SHILLONG, July 8: In order to provide better transport facilities for the commuters in the city, the Meghalaya Government is planning to launch more buses and maxi cabs.

Come July 14, the State Government, through the Urban Affairs department, will add 60 more 7-seater red maxi taxi cabs to its existing fleet.

The Meghalaya Government has ordered 101 maxi taxi cabs; out of which, 41 are already running on the city streets. “We will flag off the remaining 60 red maxi taxi cabs on July 14,” said Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh.

The maxi taxi cabs were sanctioned for Meghalaya under the 13th Finance Commission.

Meanwhile, the Urban Affairs Department will also soon launch another 50 buses in order to improve the public transportation system in the city. “The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has cleared Tata to supply 50 more red buses,” Lyngdoh said.  

With the narrow city roads already choked with vehicles and the reluctance of educational institutions to take to the idea of school buses will further add to the city’s congestion. “We will press more maxi cabs into service to cater to the need of the people,” added Lyngdoh. The running of the maxi taxi cabs has been entrusted to the Municipal Affairs Administration which in turn outsourced the service to SHGs (self help groups). In Shillong, the running of maxi taxi cabs has been outsourced to Synroplang SHG.