State transport minister Chandan Brahma (extreme left) takes a seat in the ASTC bus during the flag-off ceremony on Tuesday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Aug. 29: A day after launching its air-conditioned bus service between Ulubari and Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) was flooded with requests to introduce the service from Dispur.

An ASTC official today said they have received several requests asking them to start the air-conditioned bus service from Dispur for the convenience of the residents of eastern and southeastern parts of the city.

“Most of the people said it would be very inconvenient for them to come to Volvo Point in Ulubari to board the bus to the airport and requested us to introduce the service from Dispur as well,” the official said.

Following the requests, the ASTC is considering the possibility of introducing the service from Dispur.

“The corporation is weighing the options. It is examining the prospect of routing the bus from Dispur to the airport via National Highway 37. A final decision will be taken in the next couple of days,” the source added.

The ASTC launched its air-conditioned bus service yesterday with only two buses, as it was not sure about the public response.

“Going by the overwhelming response to the launch, it appears that we will have to increase the number of buses as well as the number of routes sooner or later in order to cater to the demand,” the official said.

The ASTC was planning to increase the number of the air-conditioned buses to 10 in the next four months, but going by the public response, it is likely to expedite it.

“Even during the flagging off ceremony yesterday, chief minister Tarun Gogoi said the ASTC will not face any scarcity of funds to expand the air-conditioned bus service to meet the demand,” the source said.

“The air-conditioned buses have been introduced on the airport route on an experimental basis. If the service succeeds, the same will be introduced in other routes also,” he added.

Though the ASTC was running air-conditioned buses on long-distance routes, this is the first time that it has introduced the service in the city.

“We have turned our focus on improving our service in the city. It was neglected for a long time because of the acute financial crisis, which the ASTC was facing. As a result, private operators have eaten up a major share of our commuter base in the city. As the financial position of ASTC has now considerably improved, we have stepped up our efforts to regain our lost position in the city,” the officer said.