ASTC's Dedicated Transport Service To Assam, North-East India

The Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) is the largest State-owned state transport corporation engaged in transport of passengers and freight in North-East India. ASTC started its services in 1948 and the present day corporation was established on March 31, 1970, under the Road Transport Corporation Act, 1950. Over the years, the corporation has been in service for the people of region ensuring safe, time-bound journey at affordable cost. We met Mr. Anand Prakash Tiwari, Managing Director, ASTC, at its Paribahan Bhavan Office in Guwahati to know more about its role in connecting people and places across Assam and North-East India.

- Biswajit Baruah

Mr. Tiwari said: “Over the years, since its inception as a corporation in 1970, ASTC has grown in terms of fleet expansion, increment of routes and an increase in number of depots and stations across Assam. Our bus fleet has increased from an initial 150 buses to 1300 buses at present for day and night services. We adopted privatization policy under which 3000 buses were included under the ASTC-umbrella.”

ASTC also initiated inter-State routes connecting Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal, which helped the people to travel to the neighbouring States at ease and comfort. The Corporation also started pilgrimage trips with ticket concessions for the devotees under the “pilgrimage policy”. Such concessional trips were organized to holy pilgrimage sites likes Bodh Gaya in Bihar and Puri Jagannath Yatra in Odisha. ASTC has developed over the years good infrastructural facilities and good workforce supporting it. The administration work is supported by its experienced team of engineers, chartered accountants and law professionals.

Speaking on ASTC’s bus services within Guwahati, he elaborated: “ASTC has around 300 buses dedicated to operations in GuwahatiCity including both smart AC buses like Volvo and Ashok Leyland Jan Bus and non-AC city bus segment comprising of Tata Marcopolo buses. Our goal is to provide comfortable and efficient transportation for GuwahatiCity, thereby reducing private vehicle congestion and promoting use of public transport”.

The MD added: “The ASTC city buses operate from 6 am till 12 midnight covering 32 major routes within the city limits. We have added AC Volvo semi low-floor buses and Ashok Leyland low-floor AC Jan Bus under the JnNURM-II Scheme. It is worth mentioning here that 200 buses were sanctioned to Guwahati City under the JnNURM-I Scheme earlier in the year 2008-09”.