Shillong: Shillong, the mountainous capital of Meghalaya has been recognised as a “City with the best record of public involvement in its transport planning” for the project “Shared Commuter Service” in East Khasi Hills (Shillong).
The “Shared Commuter Service” is an initiative implemented by the Sustainable Transport and Efficient Mobility Society (STEMS) focused on mobility and overall transportation to decongest the state capital.
Secretary for Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Manoj Joshi presented the award to Chief Executive Officer of STEM, Ms. Is Awanda Laloo during the 16th Urban Mobility India Conference and Expo 2023 held from October 27 to 29 in New Delhi.
Other cities which received awards under different categories in the event included Delhi, Lucknow, Srinagar, Bhubaneswar, Kochi and Jabalpur.
“This is the first national recognition that STEMS has received, which was conceptualised in the year 2021 by the State Planning Department. … The award was conferred to STEMS for its exemplary involvement of various stakeholders, most notably, community members, school authorities and parents apart from exhaustive consultations with several government departments,” Laloo said.
She said 30 school buses were part of the pilot project, which was aimed at reducing Shillong’s notoriously bad traffic in key educational zones.
“The buses are equipped with CCTVs and utilise GPS tracking to give real-time updates to parents. Each of the buses is staffed with trained caretakers and routes were designed after multiple rounds of consultations with public and government stakeholders,” Laloo said.
In its pilot initiative of introducing a shared bus commute system for 15 schools in Shillong City, the project has garnered favourable responses and obtained positive feedback from parents and students.
“The project is aimed to benefit the citizens of the city, who generally spend 70 minutes on average in traffic snarls daily. With the increase in student registration, the introduction of multiple routes and increased awareness of the project, it is expected that the rollout of the entire fleet will significantly reduce the congestion on the roads while also ensuring a safe and comfortable commute for students, Laloo said.
