The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, chaired by Shri Sanjay Kumar Jha, presented its 392nd Report titled "Enabling Inclusive, Digital and Sustainable Bus Transport: Policy, Regulation and Public-Private Partnership for Next-Gen Mobility" on August 11, 2026. The report was adopted by the Committee on August 6, 2026, and contains comprehensive recommendations for transforming India's bus transport system.
Key Recommendations
The Committee recommends replacing the All India Tourist Permit with an All India Passenger Permit within one year, issued by the State of first registration and enforced exclusively through electronic correlation of VAHAN, FASTag and vehicle location data. It calls for ending border check posts in the six States where they persist and working with the insurance regulator to place injured passenger claims beyond dispute.
For infrastructure development, the Committee proposes separating terminal ownership from bus operation as national policy and constituting a dedicated National Bus Terminals Authority on the Airports Authority model. It recommends framing a National Code for Bus Terminals within one year and notifying standard bus stops for MPLADS funding.
A major digital transformation is proposed through the National Bus Digital Grid, requiring interoperability standards within one year, followed by a public live-tracking layer aligned with Indian Railways specifications, unified booking across public and private operators, and a moderated crowdsourced rating system. The digital grid would include a cVIGIL-pattern citizen vigilance channel with geo-tagged, time-bound reporting and a GIS-based network atlas publishing punctuality metrics and hazard maps.
Safety measures include a district-wise completion plan for Automated Testing Stations within six months, verification of fire and egress equipment at every fitness test, retro-fitment examination for sleeper and school buses, and a published operator safety rating considered at permit renewal. The emergency alert system must function within one year or levies upon operators for it shall cease.
The Fleet Transition Compact proposes fleet-ownership and leasing entities to enable operators to run buses without owning them, entered through scrap-and-lease at registered scrapping facilities. It includes a time-bound plan for electric buses with targets for each operator, charging infrastructure matched to operational areas, and an end-of-life framework for electric buses and batteries within one year.
For gender inclusion, the Committee recommends dedicated peak-hour services operated with women bus drivers and staff within six months, CCTV in new buses, expansion of alert-system programmes beyond sixteen States, on-board toilet standardization, and monitored sanitation at overnight halts.
The National Tourist Bus Grid proposal includes integrated tourist circuits with unified ticketing, centralized accredited Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul system with digital logbooks, intermodal hubs at major destinations with revenue-sharing, and tourist-facing terminal standards with published satisfaction surveys.
Budgetary recommendations include a defined provision for public transport infrastructure within the Ministry's budget, viability gap funding for conforming terminals and testing stations, and consideration of applying approximately 25% of road allocation to public transport.
The Committee also proposes an annual published ranking of States on bus transport facilitation based on verifiable parameters including testing density, terminal access, emergency system functioning, and punctuality metrics. Additionally, it calls for reconciliation of fleet figures within six months, with Telangana's integration into VAHAN pursued, and a periodic authoritative estimate of passengers carried by bus.