Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) resumed the bus service to Delhi on Wednesday after suspending its services for eight months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In all, 25 buses will ply on different routes from the state to Delhi daily.
Stakeholders in the tourism sector have been demanding the resumption of deluxe coaches to Delhi, including Volvo services, to facilitate tourists with rail and air traffic hit by the pandemic. However, the government is yet to resume luxury bus services.
The state government resumed bus transport services on 25 inter-state routes in the first phase on October 15. These include the bus service to Chandigarh, Pathankot, Baddi, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Ambala, and Haridwar.
State transport minister Bikram Singh said that the government took this decision in view of the festive season. Himachal Pradesh runs buses on 728 routes across the region, including Jammu, Ladakh, Kashmir, Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan.
ISBT resumes operations
Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT), Delhi, resumed its operations on Tuesday, which had been closed since March 24 due to Covid. Haryana Roadways started 10% to Delhi from Tuesday and negotiations are on to start the operation of Volvo by Thursday. According to sources, the Delhi government has allowed entry of non-polluting buses ie buses that joined the roadways fleet after 2015 will be able to enter the Delhi. This decision was taken as the national capital is facing extreme pollution.
