100 new drivers to join bus depot soon

GURGAON: With 100 new drivers joining Haryana Roadways soon, there will be more buses plying on the city roads. Nearly 40 CNG-run city buses have been lying idle at the Gurgaon bus depot for the last couple of months for want of trained drivers. With the new drivers joining, the Roadways now hopes that the problem will be resolved.
"Forty eight drivers have already joined the depot, while the remaining 52 will join after getting their certificate verification, as they have acquired their licences from other states," said Yashender Singh, general manager, Haryana Roadways.
The recruitment drive was conducted for hiring 2,000 drivers for the state and at least 100 for Gurgaon. The exam was conducted by the Subordinate Services Selection Board.
There are total 20 bus depots in the state.
According to a source, the Gurgaon depot, one of the well-equipped facility in the state, had been facing a serious staff crunch, as no new appointments have been made at the depot since 1993. The depot workers said due to the shortage of manpower, the existing employees have to work overtime. Singh said the staff crunch - which is quite acute in Gurgaon and other districts in Haryana - will be solved at least temporarily with 100 new drivers joining. "
40 new buses which have been stranded at the depot will be on the roads soon.
Hopefully, the drivers will join by the end of February," he told TOI.
Singh added that all local buses are mandated to run on CNG.
"We have recently added 40 CNG-run buses for the city bus service. But, we cannot rely on CNG buses for inter-city travel as there are not many CNG refilling stations. Now, we require to hire operational staff to run the existing buses," he adds.