New Delhi, Mar 13 (PTI) More than 3.6 crore people used private buses for intercity travel in November-December 2023, according to the India BusTrack report published by the Indian online bus ticketing platform redBus.

The report, in its inaugural edition, said there are 3,63,918 unique bus routes in India, and buses connect 8,530 towns across the length and breadth of the country, making the reach of the bus network on par with railways.

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With a "gross ticketing value of Rs 36.37 billion in November-December 2023, there are 4,468 active private bus operators, and 36.06 million passengers travelled during the period," the report said, which does not include SRTCs (State Road Transport Corporations).

The report further said the 60 per cent increase in the national highway network in the last decade to cover 1,46,145 Km in 2023 has resulted in a considerable reduction in travel time by buses.

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The report will be published every quarter and the next edition is set to be published in April 2024.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)