In a relief to people during the lockdown, the Maharashtra government on Thursday decided to resume intra-district State Transport (ST) bus services, excluding in red zones and COVID-19 containment areas, from Friday with certain conditions. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) announced resumption of intra-district bus operations from May 22 (Friday). The bus operations will resume with certain terms and conditions, the MSRTC said in a statement.

ST buses will be run at 50 per cent occupancy to meet social distancing norms and services will be available only for limited hours, it said. Red zones and COVID-19 containment areas have been kept out of the routes of these buses, the statement said. The state-owned transport body had stopped its statewide bus operations since March 22 due to 'janata curfew' and the subsequent COVID-19-enforced lockdown. Since the past two months, MSRTC's bus operation has been restricted to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, where it is ferrying staffers o n emergency and essential services duty.