At the time when Meghalaya Government is dwelling much on traffic problems during the school hours, Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma admitted that there are few takers of the STEMS Buses service in the state. The Minister, however, suggested the need to send the buses under the Sustainable Transport and Efficient Mobility Society (STEMS) for schools and colleges in the different districts of the state.
Speaking to Meghalaya News 24, Sangma said that since there are no takers in Shillong, these buses should be utilized for colleges and schools across the state.
He said that majority of the parents are not in line to take the services buses. He said that the education department will soon take up with the Urban Affairs department on the mater.
“If the schools and colleges within Shillong city don’t want to use the buses, we should send them to other districts of the state,” he added.
“The Education Department will take up with the Urban Affairs Department, within Shillong city if the schools are not using these buses, why not this is given to the colleges from different districts of the state. If there are no takers from Shillong then these should be sent to the colleges and schools across the state in different districts,” Sangma said.
According to him, the government is trying to give the best services to the people but parents seem to be not willing to trust others in sending their children to school.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma in January this year flagged off shared school buses and hoped that it will help to minimise traffic congestion in Shillong, however, after eight months also there is lukewarm response to the service.