UPSRTC conductor crunch stalls 2,600 buses
Nearly 20% of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) buses—around 2,600 out of 13,000—are currently off the roads due to a shortage of conductors, according to UPSRTC spokesperson Amarnath Sahai. The corporation is now working on multiple fronts to fill the gap and support an upcoming fleet expansion.
To address the shortfall, UPSRTC has reopened its 'Mritak Ashrit Scheme' after a nine-year pause. Under this scheme, 1,145 dependents of deceased employees will be appointed as conductors and 20 as drivers.
Separately, a special recruitment drive targeting women received 6,150 applications against a target of 5,000 conductor positions across the state. Sahai said, 'Applications from the women's recruitment drive are being reviewed, and the final number of hires will be shared shortly.'
Of the 16,298 conductors currently employed by the corporation, 3,918 are on third-party contracts.
UPSRTC plans to bring in an additional 4,000 contract-based conductors soon to alleviate the staffing crunch, according to Sahai.
The shortage comes at a time when the corporation is preparing to add 3,000 more buses to its fleet. 'The corporation needs to be prepared with the manpower to support the fleet expansion when it happens, as the UPSRTC is in the process of bringing 3,000 buses into the fleet—currently we do not have enough conductors even for the existing fleet,' Sahai stated.
In total, UPSRTC is aiming to integrate close to 10,000 contractual conductors through a mix of in-house schemes and third-party agency support. The corporation presently employs 15,984 drivers across its operations.
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