Over 5.21 lakh students receive ST bus passes directly at school & college premises
Previously, students had to visit ST pass centres or bus depots and stand in long queues to obtain their passes
dheeraj.bengrut@htlive.com
In a major relief, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has distributed ST (state transport) bus passes directly at schools and colleges with as many as 521,354 students availing them in just 15 days from June 16 to June 30.
State transport minister and MSRTC chairman Pratap Sarnaik said, “The first session of the new academic year began on June 16, and to support students commuting from their homes to educational institutions, the government has offered a 66.66% concession on ST bus passes. This means students need to pay only 33.33% of the total fare to obtain a monthly travel pass.”
Under this initiative, MSRTC staff visited the schools to personally distribute the passes to students. So far, 161,204 students have received discounted passes at their respective schools. Also, under the government’s ‘Punyashlok Ahilyabai Holkar’ scheme, all female students studying up to class 12 are eligible for free ST passes. As such, 360,150 female students have been issued free passes directly at their schools.
Previously, students had to visit ST pass centres or bus depots and stand in long queues to obtain their passes. In many cases, they had to travel in groups to depots and coordinate with depot managers for pass issuance. With the new system now in place, that hassle has been eliminated. MSRTC staff will now deliver the passes directly at schools based on the list of students provided by the school and college administrations.
To ensure the smooth rollout of this initiative, the MSRTC has launched a special campaign titled “ST Pass directly at your School’ beginning June 16. Prior to the campaign, depot managers had written to the principals and headmasters of schools and colleges across the state, asking them to prepare and submit lists of students newly enrolled for the current academic year.
Sarnaik emphasised that millions of students across Maharashtra are now benefitting from this innovative system, which saves both time and effort. However, he also acknowledged that certain challenges are still being faced by students, especially in remote and tribal areas. Many students rely on specific ST bus trips to reach their schools, and sudden cancellations of these trips cause inconvenience. “There have been complaints from students and parents, particularly from tribal hamlets and remote villages where only a single ST bus operates. If that trip is cancelled, students face severe disruption,” Sarnaik noted.
To address this issue, the minister has issued a directive to all depot managers across the state, instructing them to ensure that no school-specific ST bus trips are cancelled under any circumstance. Sarnaik stressed the need for consistent and reliable transport services, especially for students in the most vulnerable regions.
Sneha Khutwad from Bhor taluka of Pune district who got the ST bus pass from her college said, “This new system of getting the ST pass directly at our college has made a huge difference to students like me. Earlier, we had to skip classes and stand in long queues at the depot just to get a monthly pass. Sometimes, we would even have to visit multiple times if the system was down or the forms were incomplete. Now, the ST staff came to our college, verified our documents, and gave us the pass on the spot. It saved time, effort, and travel costs. For girls like me who travel 20 to 25 kilometres daily, especially from remote villages, this doorstep service is a real blessing. I hope such student-friendly steps continue in future too.”
