Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a PSU under the Ministry of Railways, Government of India has been a pioneer in offering various travel and tourism related services through its online portal ranging from ticket booking of Indian Railways, Domestic and International Flights, more than 10,000 hotels across the country. Now, one can book buses online using IRCTC’s tourism portal, www.bus.irctc.co.in or through the Rail Connect App of IRCTC.
The Service, launched in January 2021 was on an ebb due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has now started to find favour with the users. A new logo of the Bus Booking feature was introduced recently by IRCTC. With the decline in COVID-19 cases and gradual reopening of states, IRCTC expects growth in this segment. At present booking of more than 50000 buses including both Private Operators and State Road Transport Corporations is available through this service. The service covers 22 states and 3 UTs.
The aim of integrating Bus Booking Service was considered important to provide last mile connectivity to users to destinations where they have to book a bus after reaching a destination through air or rail. The service is also useful in case of non-availability of train tickets or cancellation of trains.
