The Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) has launched two new Volvo bus services between Rajkot and Vadodara to meet the growing passenger demand during the summer vacation season.
The new Volvo seater buses started operating from Tuesday and will depart daily from Rajkot at 9.30 am and 5 pm.
Officials said the Rajkot division is also planning to add five more Volvo services on the Rajkot-Vadodara and Rajkot-Bhuj routes in the coming days.
To strengthen long-distance connectivity, the corporation is preparing to deploy six additional Volvo seater buses on routes linking Rajkot with the Statue of Unity, Jamnagar via Morbi, and Dahod.
Transport department sources said GSRTC is also considering the introduction of a special 15-metre-long double express bus service to handle heavy passenger traffic during night hours.
Officials added that the tender process for procuring new Volvo buses is in its final stages, and the proposed services are expected to begin after all formalities are completed.
Meanwhile, the Rajkot division has witnessed a sharp rise in revenue during the summer holiday period. Daily earnings from Volvo operations, which usually range between ₹10 lakh and ₹12 lakh, have increased to nearly ₹14 lakh to ₹15 lakh due to the seasonal rush.
However, the much-awaited resumption of Volvo sleeper bus services continues to face delays because of pending tender clearances.
Officials said sleeper Volvo buses, which earlier operated on the Rajkot-Vadodara night route, have remained discontinued for a long period. Sources indicated that the delay in restarting the premium sleeper services is due to the tender process for new Volvo buses not being finalised yet.