Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) has resumed Shimla-Delhi bus services, months after it was stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The authorities have made it mandatory for the passengers and the buses to follow the COVID-19 safety protocol. Buses need to be sanitised and masks are mandatory due to the Coronavirus.
Ramanand Thakur, in-charge of HRTC told the media that only 5 buses from Shimla to Delhi are being run as of now. All precautions are taken, all buses are sanitised. All staff and passengers are wearing masks. This is festive season so passengers and we will be benefitted. The inter-state bus services started from November 4, as per DNA.
This announcement has come as a big relief for the commuters as well as the authorities who got hit and suffered huge losses due to the pandemic. “We will see the response and occupancy and then decide on starting more buses,” HRTC Managing Director Sandeep Kumar told The Tribune.
If you are planning to travel, then take note of SOP’s issued for the buses by Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development. It includes sanitisation of buses at the origin, thermal checking of commuters before boarding the Delhi-bound buses, no standing passenger, mandatory masks, and testing the suspected passengers. It also read that the buses entering the ISBT’s should not be older than the 2015 model, due to the spike in Delhi’s pollution levels.
If bus travel is not your thing, then Kalka-Shimla train (Himalayan Queen) and Kalka-New Delhi Shatabdi are welcoming passengers.
Will you take the plunge and travel to Himachal Pradesh for your next trip?