Meghalaya: Make school buses mandatory to tackle Shillong traffic, says Charles Pyngrope

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SHILLONG: Meghalaya Trinamool Congress president Charles Pyngrope has called on the state government to make school buses mandatory for all educational institutions in Shillong, asserting that the absence of an enforced school transport system significantly contributes to the city’s worsening traffic congestion.

Addressing concerns over rising vehicular pressure, Pyngrope said the authorities must widely publicize and effectively implement public transportation. Referring to the government’s promotion of the Ride Shillong electric bikes initiative, he pointed out that although the government has stated that as many as 1,600 people have used the service, many of the bikes are now lying non-functional and abandoned.

“For many, it is not possible to ride a cycle, especially in the hilly terrain. This is a problem that many hill stations in the country normally face. It is not only in Shillong,” he said.

He added that while public criticism over traffic congestion is common, people need to offer constructive suggestions. “Now everybody can give their opinion or criticize, saying there is traffic and jams everywhere. But how about coming up with some constructive criticism? The government can then examine those suggestions and work on them accordingly.”

Pyngrope stressed that Shillong must study other states and countries with similar geographical and topographical terrain that do not face traffic “pandemonium” to the same extent. “Therefore, we need to study some of the states or countries which have similar geographical and topographical terrain but still do not have the problem of traffic pandemonium because nobody follows the rules. There are no rules being followed,” he remarked.

Questioning the practicality of cycling in the hill city, he said, “Now, you cannot expect me to ride a bicycle from Fire Brigade up to Nongthymmai. How will I climb the slope? It is humanly impossible.” He added that while cycling may be feasible in relatively flatter areas such as parts of Nongpoh or certain belts of Tura, it is not a realistic solution for Shillong’s steep terrain. “Shillong cannot control traffic congestion by introducing cycles unless it is a motorized bike, which then comes down to a scooty. They also cause chaos. So, it is a difficult thing.”

Emphasizing long-term measures, Pyngrope said the success of the STEM bus initiative demonstrates the potential of structured school transport. “The STEM buses were a success story, but I have yet to see them being fully utilized by all schoolchildren,” he observed.

He said the core issue lies in a lack of enforcement. “Now, this is one problem which the government has not enforced. If you go to any state in the country, let us just go as far as Guwahati. Every school in Guwahati, irrespective of size and irrespective of quality, whether it is run by the government or by private or public enterprises, has school buses. In Shillong, we do not have that except for one school, BK Bajoria.”

Pyngrope noted that a few institutions such as BK Bajoria School and Army School operate fleets of buses, but said this must become the norm. “So every school must have them. They cannot shy away from that or shift their responsibility.”

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