Himachal lifts ban on registration of three wheeler rickshaws

Dharamshala, September 13, 2017: “The government of Himachal has lifted the ban on the registration of three wheeler rickshaws imposed on certain areas, with immediate effect so that the unemployed youth could be benefited”, said Transport Minister, Himachal Pradesh GS Bali in a press conference at Dharamshala on Wednesday. He said the vehicle must be environment friendly.
He said that when he took the office of Transport ministry in 2013, there were only 1633 Himachal Pradesh Transport Corporation Buses( HRTC) in the state, and most of them were in the precarious condition. The Ministry has to meet Rs 450 crore on repairs of the fleet and Rs 351 crore on clearing the liabilities. He said that buses are the major mode of transportation in Himachal due to lack of railways.
Bali said, “Now as the present government has almost completed its 5 years tenure the total number of HRTC buses available are 3200. The corporation has purchased 2000 new buses during last five years including 150 (Volvo/Scania) buses.” Present government is providing 25% concession to female travellers in HRTC buses and free travel to school children from their homes to schools and back. He added that HRTC experimented with fully luxurious tempo travellers on popular interstate routes, which proved to be the major success for fast travelling for small groups.
He said, "We are starting a new bus service in each Vidhan Sabha constituency of Himachal Pradesh, which will keep on covering the constituency throughout the day.”