Gujarat govt to put new 1015 ST buses on road by February 2015

Gandhinagar, 15 July 2014

Gujarat government will put 950 new ST buses on road in next one year. Sharing the details on this, Minister Nitin Patel said the state government has reduced passenger tax from 17.5% to 7.5% from ST bus passengers in budget proposal.

He said the state government has planned to put 55 new buses on road every month. By February next year, 1015 new buses will be on road.

He said Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation(GSRTC) operates buses on daily 28 lakh km routes involving 23 lakh passengers everyday. Gujarat ST operates for last 54 years. The state government considers ST services not as profit making entity but as a service that is part of government’s social responsibility. The state has allocated Rs. 1400 crore for GSRTC in present budget.

He said 50 bus stations will get CCTV camera oriented vigilance surveillance system. Projects to construct modern bus-stations in Ahmedabad, Mehsana and Surat are in progress under public private partnership model.

The state government is going to Rs. 714 crore support to GSRTC to cover its loses on nonviable routes and other social responsibility related services including concession passes to students.

300 mini buses are put on road in interior tribal areas. 348 buses are put on roads for fishermen with separate color scheme. There’s plan to provide concession passes to students in college itself. New bus station buildings are to be constructed in 22 towns, and works are already in progress. Electronic ticket machines are now in use at every schedule.