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Patna: In a significant move to ease festive travel, the Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC) will launch 500 interstate buses connecting Bihar with six states ahead of Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath. The corporation has secured approvals from the transport departments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Punjab and Haryana.
According to officials, the initiative will include both BSRTC-operated buses and those under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. A grant of Rs 20 lakh will be provided to facilitate private participation. The service is expected to commence from divisional headquarters including Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Purnia.
The process of obtaining permits from the remaining states is underway and will be finalised soon. “We’re targeting maximum reach and affordability. The decision is based on detailed passenger flow surveys that showed annual demand of three to seven lakh bus travellers across these routes,” a senior transport official said.
Currently, limited bus services operate from Darbhanga to UP, Bhagalpur to Jharkhand, and Purnia to Bengal. The new plan aims to directly connect travellers to their destinations without the need for changing modes of transport, reducing costs and travel time.
