Patna, Nov. 7: The nip in the air has pushed AC buses off the city roads, literally.

With the onset of winter, the eight swanky AC buses operated by Eden Transport Private Limited are finding few takers. The private bus operator is now planning to run them without switching on the AC and charge passengers ordinary bus fare.

Sachchidanand Rai, the managing director of Eden Transport Private Limited, said: “Our AC buses have been running with few passengers for the past one week. As the temperature has dipped considerably, people are boarding non-AC buses because their fare is less. As a result, only two-three AC buses are plying on the city roads for the past two days. The rest are standing at the depot. We are now thinking to run all the AC buses without switching on the air-conditioners till the winter is over.”

Besides, Eden Transport Private Limited has decided to withdraw its ladies special buses and scrap monthly passes temporarily from November 10 because of fraud.

“We had observed frequent cases of duplication or theft of monthly passes. So, we are working on changing the modus operandi of the pass system. This, in turn, would require temporary withdrawal of the existing pass system. The new system would be in place within a fortnight,” said Rai.

On withdrawal of the ladies special buses, Rai said: “As Patna is not such a city where women travel alone, the ladies special buses do not seem to be feasible here. They are now being run as general buses with eight seats reserved for women.”

Earlier, four seats were reserved for women in general buses.

The decision of the Eden Transport Private Limited to withdraw ladies special and AC buses have triggered doubts among people about the future of the ambitious ring route bus services in the state capital.

“These buses were started in the state capital with the promise of improving the public transport system here by leaps and bounds. But now, its operator has started withdrawing services one after another. It seems the ring route bus service would gradually become similar to the poorly managed private city service buses,” said Abhinav Kumar, a resident of Bailey Road.