Patna: Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC) will operate 142 interstate buses on 21 routes across five states from Nov 5 to 20 to provide additional connectivity to passengers travelling during the Diwali and Chhath festive rush. The services will connect Bihar with Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Jharkhand.Of the 142 buses, 110 will operate under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, while 32 will be operated by the BSRTC. The PPP fleet will include 41 AC seaters, two AC sleepers and 67 semi-sleeper buses. The BSRTC fleet will comprise four fully air-conditioned and 28 non-AC buses.Muzaffarpur will have the highest deployment with 36 buses, followed by Purnia with 32, Darbhanga with 30, Patna with 24 and Gaya with 20.Of the total services, 75 buses will operate towards Delhi, 49 towards Haryana, three towards Uttar Pradesh, three towards West Bengal and 12 towards Jharkhand. Patna will have 13 buses for Delhi, seven for Haryana and four for Jharkhand. Muzaffarpur will operate 34 buses towards Delhi and two towards Jharkhand. Gaya will have 10 Delhi, two Haryana and two Uttar Pradesh services. Purnia will operate 12 buses towards Delhi, 18 towards Haryana and two towards West Bengal, while Darbhanga will have six Delhi, 22 Haryana, one Uttar Pradesh and one West Bengal service.The govt will also provide route-based subsidies to make interstate travel more affordable during the festive period, with discounts of up to Rs 1,337 per passenger. The fare for an AC sleeper journey to Ambala, calculated at Rs 3,737, will come down to Rs 2,624 after the subsidy. The lowest fare will be Rs 246 for a non-AC seater journey to Siliguri.BSRTC administrator Atul Kumar Verma said passengers would be able to book tickets through the corporation’s website from Nov 1. The services will continue until Nov 20, covering the peak travel period around Diwali and Chhath, he added.
