While the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) has continued to deploy new buses, staff shortage prevails in the corporation.

Dr Manish Doshi, spokesperson at Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) has accused that the state transport corporation is witnessing a shortage of bus drivers and other staff while they are continuing to deploy over 2,800 buses in the last 1.5 years.

Moreover, keeping recruitment aside, the ST corporation has started the process of appointing retired drivers and conductors on a contractual basis, alleged the opposition.

On the one hand, lakhs of candidates with the qualification of driver-conductor are waiting to get a job, while on the other hand, GSRTC has not been carrying out the recruitment process for four years.

After a driver crosses the age of 58, their eyesight weakens and their physical efficiency also decreases. It is difficult to drive an ST bus at this age.

Thus, GSRTC itself is endangering the lives of bus passengers by employing retired drivers. If a bus accident occurs, who will be responsible?, as per Opposition’s statement.

In 2023, the GSRTC announced recruitment for drivers and conductors. As a result, 1.5 lakh candidates applied for the conductor position, while 80,000 applied for the driver position.

Drivers and conductors are essential for the operation of ST buses. Due to a shortage of drivers and conductors, bus operations are being disrupted, causing inconvenience to bus passengers.

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