GreNo: Residents raise the issue of inadequate public transport infrastructure

Greater Noida: Post UP assembly elections 2022, the residents of Greater Noida West have raised the issue of inadequate public transport infrastructure in the city. In view of the increasing air pollution, noise pollution and traffic jams, residents are demanding public transport facilities including metro in the city.

Residents allege that Greater Noida which the authorities claim to be a ‘Smart City’ has very poor public transport facilities. With new housing societies coming up, the population of Greater Noida West is increasing rapidly. However, as per residents, the dominant issues in the city are ignored by the local administration.

In a talk with CitySpidey, residents of Greater Noida West shared that if the city could have a better transport system, issues such as pollution and traffic jams will be resolved on their own.

Sagar Gupta, a resident of Spring Meadows, Greater Noida West says, “Most cities including Delhi have received electric buses for local transportation, whereas we in Greater Noida do not have any sort of public transport. We need to rely on local autos that always break the rules by having five to six passengers when there is only space for three. Apart from this, there are just app-based taxis which charge high amount of money during peak hours."

He added, “Currently, the local buses which are running do not have a proper schedule and the bus stops are unequipped."

Meanwhile, after the win of Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh, the government of Uttar Pradesh, the Central government, Noida authority along with Greater Noida Authority, have promised to allocate Rs 1,100 crore on the project.

As per the officials, a 4-storey metro station will be constructed for this route. With this Gautam Buddha Nagar will be the first city in the country to have a 4-story station. Five stations are planned to be constructed in a 9.15 km long elevated track. GR Infra Project Limited has taken up the project. Until now, Rs 500 Crore have been allocated to spend on the civil work. The project is said to be completed by 2024.

Vikas Katiyar, Vice President NEFOWA says, “Greater Noida needs electric buses to control pollution. The Authority and State Government have been making promises for the last 4 years to start a metro train system in Greater Noida West. However, there is no groundwork for this. When the construction work will start, then we will accept.”

Anupam Mishra, a resident of Supertech EcoVillage says, “To control the pollution in Greater Noida, authorities should move towards electric buses. There is no doubt that Gautam Budh Nagar has a weak transport system. There are no facilities for government buses. After every 3 months, we hear news about the starting of the metro, but there is no groundwork on this. Electric buses are helpful for the residents and the authority as well. They can be charged easily and do not use fossil fuel which means less pollution."

Gaurav Patel, a resident of SRSG says, “We regularly raise the issue of the metro train. Lakhs of people live in Greater Noida West. There is no execution on the metro work. Electric buses are important but the first authority has to build bus shelters, charging stations for better facilities. In Greater Noida, there are many places which have no access to public transport and autos, and then we have only options of Ola and Uber.”

To make local commuting easier, the local bus service was started in Greater Noida on January 6, 2022, under the joint initiative of the Greater Noida Authority and Uttar Pradesh Roadways. However, as per residents, no proper schedule of arrival and departure of buses was put in action which made it difficult for passengers to keep track. To make this new arrangement of local public transport more convenient, the timetable for the bus services was installed at the bus stops on January 26, 2022.

However, the residents are still complaining about not having a proper schedule, as per residents this is a big question mark on the administration work.

Residents are still apprehensive and only hope that the work on the metro begins soon.