Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation - HRTC

Origin

On the advent of independence, Himachal was formed as a "C" class State by merger of 33 hilly States of North-Western Himalayas on 15th April, 1948. In its wisdom, the Govt. nationalized the passenger and goods service in the Pradesh. At the time of nationalization, there were a few private transport operators and private single bus operators operating buses in Himachal. Consequent to nationalization, Himachal Govt. Transport came into existence as a Govt. Transport in July, 1949 and continued to function as such till 1st October, 1974. During the year 1958 a Corporation was floated jointly by the Govt. of Punjab, Himachal and Railways under the Road Transport Corporation Act., 1950 with a name and style as "Mandi Kullu Road Transport Corporation" basically to operate on the joint routes in the States of Punjab and Himachal. With the re-organization of Punjab State in 1966 certain hilly areas of Punjab were merged in Himachal and operational areas of Mandi Kullu Road Transport Corporation came entirely in the expanded State of Himachal. This Corporation also continued as function as such till 01.10.1974. On 02.10.1974, Himachal Govt. Transport was merged with Mandi Kullu Road Transport Corporation and was renamed as Himachal Road Transport Corporation under the Road Transport Corporation Act. 1950. Since then it is functioning as such.

Growth

After the formation of Himachal on 15th July, 1948 the network of roads had received top-most priority of the Govt. as there were very limited roads in the State at that time. At present the road network is widely spread in Himachal. The increase in road network is fairly a strong indicator of economic development of the Pradesh in the field of education, health, agriculture, horticulture and the related fields. On the formation of present Corporation on 02.10.1974, the total routes operated by HRTC were 379 which have grown to 1967 routes in 2007-2008 and the fleet strength have grown from 733 to 1921 (1884 HRTC + 37 Attached) in 2007-2008. As the road length increased and basic infrastructure for development also kept pace with it, this had direct relation on the growth of the HRTC.

Bus remains the sole mode of passenger transportation as railways have a very marginal contribution in the State. The railway network in Himachal has remained static since 1947, except for a small stretch of about 18 Kms. from Nangal to Una, which has been connected by a broad gauge railway line very recently. This is the only expansion of railway network in Himachal for the last 50 years. The narrow gauge lines connecting Pathankot with Jogindernagar, Kalka with Shimla & Chandigarh-Una (2005) are so slow moving that a very small percentage of traffic is carried by them at present; thereby leaving the onus of carrying the passenger traffic on to bus transport.

The total live coverage (in lakhs kms) in 2007-2008 was 1601.42 whereas in 1974-75 it was only 303.29. Accidents per lakhs kms in 1974-75 was 0.17 which has reduced to 0.07 in 2007-2008. The number of divisions was 0 in 1974-75 which has risen to 4 (i.e. Shimla, Mandi, Dharamsala and Hamirpur). The number of depots has also risen from 15 in 1974-75 to 23. The staff strength in 1974-75 was 3500, which has now increased to 8562 in 2006-2007. The KMPL (km per liter) in 1974-75 was 2.90, which has increased to 3.71 in 2007-2008. The fleet utilization, in 1974-75 was 79.8% whereas it has increased to 98% in 2007-2008.

HRTC Overview

HRTC provides public transit facility to its passengers in the state of Himachal and to the adjoining states like Punjab, Haryana and Uttaranchal. HRTC runs approximately 1733 routes. HRTC operates four types of buses namely

Ordinary Buses
High-Tech Buses
Deluxe Buses
Luxury Coach Air Conditioned Buses

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Concessions / Discount Information

A group of 10 or more passengers is allowed a discount in fare @ 10%.

Passengers purchasing return tickets are allowed a discount in fare @ 10%.

HRTC has come out with one more concessional facility called "SMART CARD". Under this scheme, a smart card holder is allowed 10% concession in fare for travelling in HRTC buses. The senior citizen is allowed 20% concession in fare. The general public can purchase the smart card against a payment of Rs. 60/- having its validity for one year from the date of purchase.

Free travel to Handicapped, Press Correspondents/ MLAs/ MPs/ EX-MLAs/ EX-MPs and Social Workers, War Widows & Gallantry Award Winners, Padam Shree Awardees, Freedom Fighters.