Efforts to restart public buses, airlines will be made soon: Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi: The Indian government will soon issue guidelines to allow operation of public transport, including airlines in the country, union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said.

“Soon, efforts to start public transport, buses, will be made on the basis of some guidelines,” Gadkari said in an interaction with members of bus and car operators confederation of India on Wednesday.

“There is also a need to start airlines, railways, and bus transport at some level, because people are still stuck here and there. So I think even this will need to be done,” Gadkari said.


Public transport has been suspended in most parts of the country since March 25, when the country went into a nationwide lockdown to counter the Covid-19 outbreak.

While the ministry of home affairs, which is at the helm of things in managing the lockdown, has allowed movement of stranded migrant labourers back to their home states through buses and special trains, both domestic and international airlines remain completely suspended.

Gadkari also said that economic activity will have to be restarted to retain migrant labourers in the cities. “So far as migration is concerned, if we start industry, transport, then people will stay back,” Gadkari said. “We are trying how we can regularise these things,” he added.

MHA, in a fresh set of guidelines issued last week, allowed operation of buses and cabs, but in a restricted manner, in orange and green zones, which have relatively less, or no confirmed cases of Covid-19.

Meanwhile, members of the confederation made suggestions for improving the condition of public transport which include extending interest payment exemptions, restarting public transport, extending age life limit, deferring state taxes, extending MSME benefits, extending insurance policy validity, a statement from the transport ministry said.