Uttar Pradesh state buses will not operate at night till January 15: UPSRTC

The decision has been taken to reduce number of accidents caused by foggy conditions. Buses will operate from 8am to 8pm. If buses encounter fog on their route, they will halt at the nearest station, dhaba or similar facility, said officials

In order to reduce the number of accidents during peak winter season, officials of the Uttar Pradesh state road transport corporation (UPSRTC) have imposed unprecedented restrictions on operation of buses at night.

An Uttar Pradesh state road transport corporation bus in Ghaziabad on Tuesday. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

“We have been directed to operate long distance buses mostly during day so they can reach their destination before foggy conditions at night – so mostly only from 8am to 8pm. We have also been directed that if the buses encounter foggy conditions en route, they should halt at the nearest station, dhaba or any other similar facility,” said a UPSRTC official who asked not to be named.

“Passengers will have to wait till foggy conditions clear up and it is only afterwards that buses will resume the journey,” the official added. High-end Volvo buses will not operate at night. The restrictions will come into effect immediately and remain in place till January 15, said officials.

This decision has been taken up for the first time in the history of the state-run agency.

Vehicles move slowly amid dense fog on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway in Ghaziabad on Monday. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

UPSRTC Ghaziabad operates at least 880 buses from Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) Kaushambi, ISBT Anand Vihar and ISBT Kashmere Gate. These include at least 45% long distance buses to cities like Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh and Bareilly in eastern Uttar Pradesh, as well as to Uttarakhand and Pokhara in Nepal.

The Ghaziabad region, comprising the districts of Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr and Hapur, has a daily estimated ridership of at least 150,000 passengers. The daily revenue of ₹1.5 crore is estimated to reduce to just ₹50 to ₹60 lakh with the new restrictions. Long distance passengers account for 50% of daily ridership in Ghaziabad region.

“In line with the directions, we are readying our facilities with clean washrooms and canteens will stay open 24x7 to provide facilities to passengers,” said AK Singh, regional manager of UPSRTC.

Rahul Mishra, who regularly takes buses from ISBT Kaushambi, said, “The decision will move passengers to private bus operators, who will take advantage of these restrictions. If the buses stop midway at night, passengers will face major issues and inconvenience for hours. So, the passengers will definitely move to private buses and even towards trains.”

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday forecast that “dense to very dense foggy conditions are likely to continue over Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh over the next two days and will decrease in intensity thereafter”.