GSRTC to launch ladies-only buses

50 buses to ply to Vadodara Rajkot and Surat; more routes in Phase II

DILIP PATEL

For the convenience of women, the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) along with the State Transport Department will soon introduce 50 intercity buses exclusively for ladies. With a view to begin the services soon, GSRTC has already floated tenders for 1,760 buses. “We are keen to begin this special service soon as the demand for it has been pending for long. In the first phase, we will start 50 buses on Ahmedabad-Rajkot, Ahmedabad-Surat and Ahmedabad-Vadodara routes. The decision has been taken considering women’s security, said B K Sinha, principal secretary, Transport Department.
Working women had approached the department several times demanding specual buses. Maharashtra has some women-special buses plying on certain routes. “City buses and trains have special coaches and seats for women, but GSRTC does not have any special buses for women,” said Geeta Patel who commutes frequently between Ahmedabad and Rajkot.
GSRTC plans to add 2,000 new buses to its fleet by the end of 2010. In the next two years, the agency plans to purchase 3,500 buses to meet the increasing demand of commuters.

BUSES ON TOURIST ROUTES

THE TRANSPORT Department has come up with a proposal to run special buses on tourism routes which will cover Jamnagar, Junagadh, Rajkot, Vadodara and Mehsana. These buses will run only on weekends , a department source said.

300 BUSES FOR KNOWLEDGE CORRIDOR

FOR THE convenience of students, the department has also proposed to introduce 300 buses on 1,200 destinations along the knowledge corridor which is spread across Vallabh Vidyanagr, Changa, Ganpat and Vadodara.