GSRTC Launches 101 New Buses; Announces 6,500 Extra Trips for Raksha Bandhan

Gandhinagar: With the festival of Raksha Bandhan around the corner, the Gujarat Government has launched 101 new Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) buses as a special initiative to improve public transportation facilities for women across the state, according to a press release. Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi flagged off all 101 buses from Gandhinagar.

The 101 newly launched buses comprise 71 Super Express buses, 20 Midi buses and 10 Sleeper Coach buses. All these buses will also be deployed as part of the special transportation arrangements for the Raksha Bandhan festival.

During the programme, women conductors of the GSRTC tied rakhis to Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, marking an early celebration of Raksha Bandhan.

GSRTC drivers, conductors and operational staff provide uninterrupted 24×7 services to ensure that women and families across the state can celebrate festivals with their loved ones. As a result, many GSRTC employees make personal sacrifices and remain on duty during festivals. Appreciating their dedication to ensuring transportation facilities for women and other citizens, Deputy Chief Minister Sanghavi congratulated all GSRTC employees and thanked them for their services. He also inspected the newly launched ST buses.

Forest and Environment Minister Arjun Modhwadia said that, keeping the upcoming Raksha Bandhan festival in mind, the GSRTC has introduced special bus services on various routes to facilitate passengers. These services will make travel easier for citizens travelling from different parts of the state to meet their families during the festival.

According to the press release, the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation will operate around 6,500 additional trips on various routes across the state from August 26 to 30. Extensive arrangements have been made to operate special buses to major cities such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, as well as prominent pilgrimage centres including Ambaji, Pavagadh and Somnath.

For the convenience of passengers, facilities for advance booking through online platforms and at ST depots have also been made available.

It may be recalled that during Raksha Bandhan last year, the GSRTC operated 6,402 additional trips and served around 3.33 lakh passengers. This year, the arrangements have been expanded further to meet the expected surge in passenger demand, with 6,500 additional trips planned across the state.

The ST Corporation has appealed to the public to make maximum use of the special services being operated during the Raksha Bandhan festival. DeshGujarat