M.P. gets govt. bus service after 21 years; 351 buses flagged off

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav relaunched public bus service in the State on Friday. The service was shutdown in 2005 and the relaunch came after a gap of 21 years.

At a ceremony held on the birth anniversary of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) patron Deen Dayal Upadhyay, Mr. Yadav and Mr. Gadkari unveiled the ‘Mukhyamantri Sugam Parivahan Seva’ and flagged off 351 buses to be operated from seven cities, from Bhopal’s BHEL Dussehra ground. The service has been launched under the Madhya Pradesh’s Mobility Vision - 2030.

The cities that will start operations under phase-1 are Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Rewa, Dewas, Katni and Bhind with 231 intra-city and 120 inter-city buses.

As per official information, the government plans to run 1,500 in the first year and add 2,500-3,000 buses every year. Overall, the government plans to run 15,000 intra-State and inter-State buses across 3,500 routes by 2031, and targets to connect 75% gram panchayats across the State.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Yadav said the buses will provide a modern, affordable and safe mode of travel for the public.

Mr. Yadav and Mr. Gadkari also launched the ‘PM e-bus Sewa’ in Madhya Pradesh. It is a Union government scheme under which electric buses are being run on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. 

Mr. Gadkari said that the Centre plans to deploy 10,000 electric buses at a cost of ₹57,000 crore under the scheme, of which ₹20,000 crore will be borne by the Centre.

“A total of 972 buses have been sanctioned in Madhya Pradesh so far,” he added.

Several buses flagged off under the ‘Mukhyamantri Sugam Parivahan Seva’, however, appeared to be old vehicles freshly painted with saffron colour.

Congress State unit president Jitu Patwari said, “The government is taking 10-year-old buses out of the scrapyard, refurbishing them with new paint and bodywork, and putting them back on the road — only to tout this as a major achievement. The government must tell the actual condition of the buses being deployed, how their fitness has been verified, and what measures have been put in place to ensure passengers’ safety.”