CM Nitish Kumar rolls out 80 more pink buses, pitches for women’s safe travel

Patna: CM Nitish Kumar on Monday flagged off 80 pink buses meant exclusively for women travellers in various towns and cities, marking the second phase of their rollout. He also introduced e-ticketing for all 1,065 buses run by Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC).The launch is part of the govt’s initiative to provide women with smooth, comfortable and secure travel within cities, towns and their adjoining areas. Officials described it as another step by the state towards women’s empowerment.Earlier, on May 16 this year, the CM had flagged off 20 pink buses. Of these, eight were allocated to Patna, four to Muzaffarpur and two each to Gaya, Darbhanga, Bhagalpur and Purnia. The buses quickly became popular with working women and college students, both in the cities and on routes extending to peripheral areas.In just two months since their launch, 33,000 women passengers had travelled on the pink buses, including 21,000 in Patna alone.The flagging-off ceremony for the 80 new buses was held near the CM’s official residence at 1, Anne Marg. Before the formal launch, Nitish inspected the buses and sought details from officials regarding the facilities provided.While the buses are painted pink, the conductors and other women staff wear pink uniforms, while drivers remain male as the state currently lacks women drivers licensed to operate heavy motor vehicles.The buses run on CNG and are equipped with GPS tracking, CCTV cameras, panic buttons, and mobile charging points near the seats. Fares are displayed according to distance.Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha were present at the event along with principal secretary to CM Deepak Kumar, chief secretary Pratyaya Amrit, transport department additional chief secretary Mihir Kumar Singh, secretaries to CM Anupam Kumar and Kumar Ravi and transport commissioner Ashutosh Trivedi.