Maha: MSRTC bus service completes 75 years of operations

The bus operations of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), considered as the lifeline of the state, completed 75 years on Thursday as its maiden service had started on this day in 1948.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde congratulated the MSRTC officials, employees and passengers on the occasion, and expressed confidence that the transport body will continue to provide good service to people.

In a tweet, Shinde said the MSRTC's journey started with its maiden bus service on the Pune-Ahmednagar route on June 1, 1948 and it has become the lifeline of the common people due to its comfortable and safe service.

He also said that the 'Laal Pari' (red fairy) buses continue to provide services to people in the current competitive era. The MSRTC buses are fondly called 'Laal Pari' by people of the state owing to their red exterior. An MSRTC official said the corporation's journey started with just a few buses, but now it owns one of the largest fleets in the country. The corporation currently has a fleet of more than 16,000 buses, out of which more than 14,500 buses are plying on roads every day. More than 57 lakh passengers travel on these state-run buses across Maharashtra and in the neighbouring states of Karnataka, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, he said. In his tweet, Shinde said that the ST bus is a preferred medium of transport in rural as well as urban parts of the state.

He also said his government's moves of providing 50 per cent discount to women ST bus travellers and free of cost travel for the citizens above 75 years of age were drawing a good response in the state.

''With the initiative of the government, this lifeline will continue to provide an uninterrupted and pleasant service to people of the state,'' CM Shinde added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)