Commuters travelling by the city bus service, “Gurugaman”, are put to inconvenience due to non-availability of travel cards for the past few days. It may take another two weeks before the supply of cards is restored, said an official. The cards are sold at six points of sale across the city — HUDA City Centre metro station, IFFCO Chowk, Krishna Chowk, Gurugram bus stand, Dundahera bus stop and Sector-56.
Himanshu, an executive at HUDA City Centre metro station PoS, said, “Dozens of commuters approach me everyday to buy travel cards, but I have run out of stock. We have informed the officials concerned, but we were told that it might take another 10-15 days before the supply is restored.”
Rakesh, a commuter, said he had come to the PoS for the second time in less than a week, but was told that cards were not available. “The cards are available at only six such points. More points should be opened. Also, the cards are not charged online. The commuters again need to travel to the PoS for a recharge,” said Rakesh.
Sanjay, an executive at bus stand PoS, said that the situation was similar there too.
A senior official of the Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited said that the travel cards were supplied in an arrangement with IDFC First Bank and were given free of cost. However, a dispute had now arisen with the bank demanding a charge of ₹100 per card. “It has affected the supply of the cards. We have now approached other banks to explore the possibility of procuring the cards through them. It might take a while before the supply is restored,” the official said.
