MSRTC To Operate 4,953 Extra Buses For Ganesh Festival; Highest Number Of Services From Thane

Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) on Monday said it would operate nearly 5,000 extra Ganpati special buses from Mumbai, Thane and Palghar districts for the Konkan region from September 3.

In a release, the state-owned undertaking said 4,953 Ganapati special extra buses will be operated, including 4,200 buses that had been booked by groups.

"Of these, 2,481, including 2064 that had been booked by groups, will be operated from Thane. Of the 1,841 buses that will be operated from Mumbai, 1578 will be those that are group-booked, while 417 will be extra buses. In Palghar, of the 631 buses, a total of 558 are of group booking and 73 will be extra buses," it said. 

The MSRTC release said 100 per cent concession in ticket fare to passengers above 75 years of age and 50 per cent concession to women will be applicable in these 4,953 special buses. 

MSRTC public relations officer Abhijit Bhosale said maintenance vehicles will be placed on Mumbai-Goa highway during the four-day period and temporary toilet facilities will be provided at various places for the convenience of the passengers. 

Ganapati festivities, which start on September 7, are heavily patronised in the Konkan belt with thousands making the journey to the state's coastal region to take part. MSRTC has a fleet of around 15,000 buses and a daily ridership of more than 60 lakh passengers.