Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) is doing its best to ensure passengers are on the move while they are ON THE MOVE. It is set to become the first public transport corporation in the country to provide wireless high-speed internet access to passengers in its Volvo buses. All the 10 buses connecting Ahmedabad to Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Surat will go WiFi by the end of this month.
ST will be the first transport corporation in the country to provide access to wireless internet
So, passengers can check and reply to their emails, socialise, book air/rail tickets, surf websites and play online games on their laptops instead of dozing off, which is usually the most popular pastime.
The ‘WiFi cafe on wheels’ aims to attract more youngsters and transform an otherwise drab journey to a productive and entertaining one. Meanwhile, GSRTC is also in talks with two telecom companies for 3G connectivity too, sources said. “Trial runs for the same are on,” a source said.
The 2x2 type air-conditioned buses have 45 push-back seats and each passenger is given one Gujarati and one English newspaper and a magazine to read on the way. Also, with competitive pricing, these buses have been very successful in attracting the youth.
Tejas Popat, incharge for GSRTC’s Volvo projects, said: “A majority of our passengers are young, educated and tech-savvy. So, it was apt for us to consider introducing WiFi. The move will also attract more students who prefer taking the train.”
A majority of Volvo passengers — more than 900 — ply between Ahmedabad and Vadodara every day.
More ST-eem for Nehrunagar, Bopal passengers
ST is all set to start intercity services for passengers staying in the western part of the city. It will be plying buses from Bopal to Surat and Nehrunagar to Vadodara, beginning this week. So far, there were only local buses plying in the area.
With competitive pricing, these buses have been very successful in attracting youth
There will be one bus every hour to Vadodara (from 6 am to 9.30 pm) and two buses in a day to Surat.
So far, intercity buses for Vadodara and Surat were available from Geeta Mandir and airport only. With the option of private buses available, people in the western part of the city preferred that instead of paying the rickshaw fare to Geeta Mandir and taking the bus from there.
GSRTC secretary P D Patel said, “We are expecting good response for the new services as many people residing in the western part commute to Vadodara every day. It will also save them autorickshaw fare to ST terminus at Geeta Mandir.”
The corporation will be providing on-the-spot booking, conventional in-bus booking and on-line booking for the proposed intercity services.
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