The Uttar Pradesh government is set to launch a new courier and parcel service through the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) buses. A five-year agreement has been signed between the UPSRTC and M/s AVG Logistics Ltd, Delhi, to facilitate this service.

The required infrastructure is expected to be in place by September 9, 2024, and the service will be available on both ordinary and AC buses operated by the corporation.

Transport Minister (Independent Charge) Dayashankar Singh said that a total of 11,000 buses, including both ordinary and AC, would be used for this new service. Major regions anticipated to see high volumes of bookings include Agra, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Saharanpur, Aligarh, Moradabad, Bareilly, Hardoi, Etawah and Jhansi.

The transport minister instructed officials of UPSRTC to ensure 100% compliance with the provisions of the contract. He emphasised that traffic supervisors/inspectors should inspect not only passenger tickets but also luggage on the routes. “If any conductor is found booking parcels illegally, strict action will be taken against them,” he added.

The minister said that all assistant regional managers and station incharges should ensure that bus drivers/conductors stop the buses at designated bus stations for courier parcel service representatives to book parcels and receive booking receipts. Apart from the space and weight reserved on the buses for keeping parcels by the firm, the remaining space will be used for keeping the luggage of the passengers of the corporation.

The assistant regional managers have been instructed to ensure that all parcels booked at bus stations go through the courier service and are not loaded unauthorisedly onto buses. This responsibility will lie with the assistant managers.