The Bihar Transport Department has decided to run 50 additional pink buses to ensure safe and smooth travel for women in the State. File
Buoyed by the success of the “pink bus” in the State, the Bihar Transport Department has decided to run 50 additional pink buses to ensure safe and smooth travel for women in the State.The department is, at present, running 100 pink buses in Patna, Muzaffarpur, Gaya Ji, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga and Purnea. “The department has decided to run 50 additional pink buses in major cities of the state. These buses are being run for women with a view to ensuring their safe and smooth travel,” Transport Minister Damodar Rawat told reporters at a press conference in Patna on Wednesday (June 3, 2026).Mr. Rawat was accompanied by Transport Department Secretary Raj Kumar and State Transport Commissioner Arif Ahsan. The department is providing women with job opportunities after giving them the training to 100 women drivers, he said, adding that women applicants willing to join as drivers will be given training in LMV (Light Motor Vehicle) and HMV (Heavy Motor Vehicle). The pink buses are equipped with CCTV cameras, a panic button and GPS to ensure the continuous monitoring of the buses plying on various roads.With a view to making the transport system modern and convenient in the state, the department has also decided to develop 31 modern bus stands on the lines of bus stands of NOIDA and Mumbai in PPP mode, the minister said, adding that Patna, Muzaffarpur, Gaya Ji, Bhagalpur, Purnea, Darbhanga, Kishanganj, Motihari, Biharsharif, are among the 31 proposed bus stands.These bus stands will be equipped with modern facilities so that passengers can have a safe and comfortable journey, Mr. Rawat said, adding that these stands will have modern waiting rooms, a digital information system, clean drinking water, toilets, parking, eateries, a passenger help centre, and security, apart from other facilities.In order to ensure road safety, better traffic management and an electronic enforcement system, the department has taken the initiative to implement the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) under the PPP model in the state, Transport Department Secretary Raj Kumar said.This project will further strengthen technology-based monitoring of traffic, e-challan system and data-based decisions, he said, adding that ITMS will be installed at 500 places across the State and out of this, it will be installed at 200 places in the first phase, while the remaining will be installed in the second phase.The command and control centre will be set up in Patna, while viewing centres will be set up in all 38 districts of the state, which will ensure effective monitoring of traffic violations, analysis and its centralised enforcement.The Secretary said that the department is making preparations to have a strict vigil on school buses through “software” which is being developed. There are guidelines issued by the Supreme Court that are not being complied with. All the buses run by schools will be registered, he added. Mr. Kumar said the department is developing software “where is my bus” which will let people know about the location of the bus and also when the bus is expected to reach the destination. It will be implemented in the next one and a half months, he added. Published - June 04, 2026 02:40 am IST
