The Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) will operate around 2,400 additional buses and more than 8,000 extra trips during the Diwali travel period to manage increased demand from passengers travelling to their hometowns. The special services are planned from November 4 to 7, while the Ahmedabad division will run additional trips from November 2 to 8.
The largest demand is expected on routes connecting Surat with Saurashtra, where many diamond workers and other residents travel to districts including Bhavnagar, Amreli, Junagadh and Rajkot for the festival. GSRTC will also operate extra services for passengers travelling towards Panchmahal, North Gujarat and other destinations across the state.
From Surat, the additional buses will serve routes to Saurashtra as well as Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara, Mehsana, Patan and Palanpur. The arrangement is intended to supplement regular bus services during the period when inter-city travel rises sharply ahead of Diwali.
The Ahmedabad division has separately planned 1,800 additional trips between November 2 and 8. These services will connect the city with destinations in Saurashtra, Kutch and Kathiawar, including Sanand, Botad, Amreli, Junagadh, Rajkot and Bhuj. Additional buses are also planned for Dahod, Godhra, Balasinor and Santrampur.
According to the report, GSRTC will add buses on routes where passenger numbers are particularly high. The Ahmedabad division will provide online booking on selected routes, while passengers will also be able to book additional services through GSRTC’s official website, divisional offices and depots. The booking system will include advance and current online reservations.
The scale of the plan reflects the operational pressure placed on Gujarat’s public transport network during seasonal migration and festival travel. Surat’s industrial workforce creates especially strong demand towards Saurashtra during Diwali, making route-wise deployment important for managing queues and reducing the pressure on regular services. The available details do not specify the number of buses assigned to each route or the timetable for individual departures.
Passengers seeking information about bus operations can contact GSRTC’s 24-hour toll-free helpline at 1800 233 666666. The corporation’s additional services are scheduled to operate during the announced November travel window, with further deployment possible on routes where demand is higher than anticipated.
