HRTC – History and Importance
The Himachal Pradesh Transport Corporation was founded during 1958 was founded by the Governments of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, along with the joint collaboration with the Railways. It was initially named Mandi – Kullu Road Transport Corporation. It was during 2nd October 1974 that the Government Transport of Himachal Pradesh was merged along with this corporation. This resulted in the organisation that we know today as Himachal Road Transport Corporation. Today, buses have totally dominated the means of transport, as railways have a negligible presence in the organisation today.
Safety of passengers
Passenger safety is given utmost importance here as the drivers of the buses are professionally trained. Drivers are trained on emergency procedures and how to respond in case of unfortunate events. If drivers are found guilty of committing any illegal actions during driving, they are given the strictest punishment possible by the authorities of Himachal Pradesh Transport Corporation. The buses are designed after taking into consideration all the safety processes and controls. The seats are luxurious and have enough leg-space between the seats. Long-distance buses have fully reclining chairs so that passengers do not face any discomfort during their travel.
Online Tickets booking
With the advent of technology, HRTC has launched online booking service for its passengers. One needs to have a user id and password in order to login to the official portal of HRTC’s website. Once they select the date of journey, number of passengers, origin and destination station, they have a list of buses to choose from. They can choose buses based on the availability of bus tickets in that particular sector. This service has been designed for the utmost comfort of its passengers because online booking saves a lot of time and effort for them.
Fare structure of HRTC
The HRTC fare structure varies based on the various kinds of buses operated by the state’s road transport corporation and the duration of the journey covered. The fares are quite transparent and flexible. Passengers will not be charged any hidden costs and they only pay what they see. The fares are several notches higher in super deluxe buses or luxury buses when compared to normal buses, because the comforts offered are also many here.
The HRTC fare structureis available for passengers on the internet. There are various concessions available for students, senior citizens, differently abled passengers, etc. The buses have different facilities like television, centralised air-conditioning, first-aid boxes, reclining facilities, cushion facilities etc. No fares are charged for kids who are aged below 5 years. Kids aged between 5 and 12 years will be charged half the fare in all the buses except the air-conditioned buses.
There are various discount schemes operated by HRTC like the Group discount scheme, Yellow card scheme and Smart card scheme. In the group discount scheme, passengers who are travelling as a group of 10 people are entitled to a 10% discount. In the second scheme, smart card holders are eligible for a 10% concession of the fare. In the third scheme, yellow card holders are eligible for a 20% discount for journey within 40km radius from the place where the smart card was purchased.
The road transport of Himachal Pradesh has revolutionised the road transport in Himachal Pradesh, with its wider range of connectivity. They operate Volvo, Ordinary, Deluxe and other special buses during special occasions or festivals. The e-tickets can be booked within a time frame of 4 hours before the actual departing time from the origin station. Similarly, cancellation too can be done 4 hours before the departure time from the origin station, if the passengers need to qualify for a refund. Once tickets are cancelled after the bus has departed from the first station, passengers will not be liable for any refund. Both the booking and cancellation procedures can be done within seconds through the online method.