Come September 16, travel interstate on CTU buses

Chandigarh, September 4

The UT Administration has decided to resume the interstate bus service from September 16. The Administration had suspended the interstate bus operations on March 23 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) had briefly resumed the interstate bus service to the neighboring states of Haryana and Punjab from June 10, but had suspended these after a few days due to a sudden increase in coronavirus cases.

As per the new guidelines issued by the Central Government, the UT has decided to resume the interstate bus service of CTU and other state transport undertakings (STUs) with effect from September 16.

The Administration has also allowed HVAC/AC buses to operate with Covid-19 guidelines issued by the government from time to time.

The buses have to maintain the standard operating procedures (SOPs) as a preventative measure to curb the spread of the pandemic.

The CTU has a fleet of 514 buses. While 361 buses run on local or suburban routes, 153 buses run on interstate routes covering Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.

Mandi to be shifted back to Sec 26 before Sept 15

The UT has decided to shift back the fruit and vegetable market from the ISBT, Sector 17, to Sector 26.

Due to the pandemic, the mandi was shifted to the ISBT, Sector 17. Now, the interstate operation of buses will start on September 16 due to which the mandi has to be shifted before September 15. — TNS

SOPs for buses of other states

• Sanitisation of all buses proposed to be operated
• No boarding/ deboarding of passengers other than at the ISBT, Sector 17 and 43, in the UT area
• Buses will be operated with 50 per cent seating capacity in view of social distancing norms
• No ticket booking will be allowed at the ISBT, Sector 17 and 43, counters. It should be done either online or within the bus
• Passengers to be encouraged to download the Aarogya Setu app
• No passenger will be allowed to deboard the bus without wearing a mask and the bus crew will ensure that passengers wear mask during the journey and maintain social distancing