PATNA: State transport minister Santosh Kumar Nirala on Saturday flagged off 17 buses on two new routes – Gandhi Maidan-Hajipur and Saguna Mor-Maner Sharif via Danapur While 15 buses will ply on route number 444 (Patna-Hajipur) via Kadamkuan, Rajendra Nagar, Bahadurpur, Gaighat, Agamkuan and Gandhi Setu before reaching Hajipur railway station, two buses will ply on route number 888 (Saguna Mor-Maner Sharif) via Danapur cantonment, Daudpur, Khaspur, Sherpur, Lodipur , Darveshpur, Mahinava and Maner.Speaking on the occasion, the minister said the state government was trying its best to provide better transport facilities to people.Transport secretary Sanjay Agarwal said the department would roll out more buses on route number 888 after analysing the response of commuters. “The buses will take 50 minutes to complete the 18.4km-long journey from Saguna Mor to Maner Sharif . One can reach Hajipur after boarding a bus at Gandhi Maidan in one-and-a-half hours,” Agarwal said, adding the buses on the two routes would ply from7am to 9pm.Earlier, the transport department had launched 55 buses which run on five routes in the state capital – Danapur (route number 111), Phulwarisharif and AIIMS Patna (route number 222), Patna Sahib and Patna City (route number 555), Danapur Junction (route number 111 A) and Patna University (route number 333).“The bus fare will vary from Rs 5 to Rs 20 depending on the distance covered. Of the 36 seats in each bus, 65% seats are reserved for women. All the buses are equipped with CCTV cameras and GPS facility,” Agarwal said. He added the department was also planning to launch new buses on Patna-Bihta and Patna-Biharsharif routes.

Stay updated with all the Latest Patna headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.