Shimla: Private Bus Cartel Tightens Grip — HRTC Unions Warn Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri of Showdown
Shimla November 2:
Private bus operators in the capital are behaving like a full-blown transport cartel — overloading buses, bullying passengers and now trying to arm-twist the government. Their latest demand? Bar HRTC buses coming from beyond 40 km from entering Shimla.
If this absurd demand is accepted, thousands of daily commuters — workers, farmers, vegetable suppliers, milk sellers, patients and students — will be dumped on the roadside, forced to board private buses and cough up extra fares just to reach ISBT. It’s not only anti-people, it’s daylight exploitation.
In a blistering joint statement, all major HRTC unions have blasted the private lobby’s “illegal, baseless and profit-greedy” move, urging Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri — who heads the Transport Department — to act before the cartel hijacks the city’s public transport system.
Union leaders Samar Chauhan, Jia Lal, Pyar Singh, Harish Parashar, Rishi Lal, Sanjay Badwal, Khemendra Gupta, Hitendra Kanwar, Khem Chand, Hari Krishna, Keshav Verma, Hari Lal, Bal Krishna and Sunder Lal said the private operators’ strike threat is nothing but blackmail.
They said HRTC buses run strictly on public demand, unlike private operators who treat passengers as money-making units.
The demand to stop buses travelling over 40 km from entering Shimla is “irrational, inhumane and meant solely to fatten the pockets of private owners.”
Forcing people to get down 3 km before ISBT so that private buses can charge an extra ₹10 is “open robbery of the poor.”
The unions reminded that HRTC is a service-oriented institution offering concessional travel to more than 27 categories, and running school buses as a social obligation — not as a money-spinner.
Meanwhile, private buses openly flout rules and operate illegally, yet accuse HRTC of causing traffic jams. “CCTV footage everywhere shows the truth — private buses are the ones choking Shimla’s roads,” the unions said.
They questioned whether Shimla’s traffic plan will now be dictated by 50–60 private bus operators. “Who gave them the authority to decide how the capital city should run?”
They also exposed the reality: nearly 400 HRTC trips are suspended due to shortage of staff and buses — not because of unauthorized operations. HRTC is audited, regulated and accountable; private operators are not.
The unions warned that if the administration bows to the private lobby and alters HRTC routes, they will hit the streets. “If needed, we will go on strike. Any chaos that follows will be the responsibility of the district administration and HRTC management,” they said.
They appealed to Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri to take a hard stand, call out the cartel and protect the rights of the travelling public. “Shimla cannot be held hostage by private interests,” the unions said.
#ShimlaTransportCrisis #StopPrivateCartel #ProtectHRTC #PublicRightsFirst
