Sweeping aviation-model reforms sought for bus transport and terminals

According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, there are around 4.4 lakh buses in the country. Of these, around 1.1 lakh are owned by the state and central government and 3.3 lakh or three of every four buses are privately owned.

The report emphasises that because buses carry more daily passengers than the railway network, they must move toward next-generation mobility with user-friendly services.

National Bus Terminals Authority

The committee recommended that a National Bus Terminals Authority should be constituted on the model of the Airports Authority of India to develop, standardise and manage the bus terminals across the country.

The committee also said that the government should implement a policy where there should be a separation between the ownership of buses and management of bus terminals like the aviation sector, where an airline does not build its own airport but obtains access to the terminals on payment to the operator.

The committee’s recommendations came in response to submissions by private bus operators, who argued that they are denied access to state-owned bus terminals on the grounds that these facilities belong to State Road Transport Undertakings (SRTUs) and therefore cannot be opened to their competitors.

The operators said this system leaves terminal capacity underutilised and impacts their cash flow, as the denial of entry to private buses means the terminals lose an opportunity to generate additional revenue by charging a fee per bus.

At the same time, passengers are often forced to board private buses from roadsides.

According to the report, Delhi and Tamil Nadu are the only two states which allow the halt of private buses at their bus stand.

For instance, the inter-state bus terminal at Kashmere Gate in Delhi charges Rs 500 per entry, which is collected through FASTag. Similarly, in Tamil Nadu, private operators are permitted a 15-minutes halt at bus stands upon payment of Rs. 500.

National Code for Bus Terminals

The report also called for a National Code for Bus Terminals.

“A National Code for Bus Terminals be framed within one year prescribing minimum standards of sanitation, lighting, seating, security, signage, digital passenger information and accessibility, and serving as the reference for viability gap funding or other central support,” said the committee.

Modern bus stops along expressways & highways

The committee further recommended to notify the standards and design of a modern bus stop at a cost of Rs 10-12 lakh for expressways and highways and circulate it among all MPs to use their MPLAD fund to build such bus stops.

The committee highlighted the fact that 95% of government buses halt on the highway carriageway to deboard the passengers.

National Bus Digit Grid for tracking & booking tickets

The transport committee also asked the government to build a National Bus Digit Grid to track a bus like train and book any bus at a single platform.

It also recommended to launch a citizen vigilance channel, on the pattern of the Election Commission of India’s cVIGIL application, through which any passenger can lodge a geo-tagged, time-stamped report, with photograph or video, of the condition or conduct of any bus, terminal or halting place, including overloading, the carriage of school children in unsafe conditions, nonfunctional safety equipment etc.

The report also shifts focus from just vehicle standards to operator-level accountability.

It recommended completing the Automated Testing Station (ATS) network to ensure objective fitness testing and published safety ratings for operators based on accident history, enforcement records, and passenger feedback.

To modernise the aging national fleet, the committee suggests a Fleet Transition Compact that separates vehicle ownership from operation.

This includes bulk procurement and leasing models for electric buses so that operators do not carry the full capital burden.

It also calls for a scrapping incentive review for private operators and a policy for disposing of electric vehicle batteries at the end of their life.

The committee has also recommended a dedicated peak-hour bus service operated by women drivers and staff. It also insisted on a periodic counting of passengers carried by bus.

Noting that the state currently counts vehicles but not people, the report argues that a proper passenger census is essential for sizing terminals, pricing permits, and justifying budget allocations.