Chandigarh, May 18: Public bus services will resume from May 20 on select routes within Punjab, Transport Minister Razia Sultana said on Monday as the nationwide COVID-19-induced lockdown entered its fourth phase. She said that buses will be run at 50 per cent occupancy.

The Punjab government's move to resume public transport services came after the Centre allowed states to run buses in non-containment zones.

Curfew restrictions in Punjab were lifted on Monday while lockdown has been imposed till May 31. Haryana Government to Start Intrastate Roadways Bus Services from Friday Amid Lockdown.

To prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, some states had imposed further curfew restrictions, besides prohibitory orders issued under the nationwide lockdown enforced by the Centre since March 25.

“We will resume bus services from Wednesday” and at 50 per cent occupancy, Sultana said here, adding that “if a bus has 50 seats, then only 25 passengers will be allowed to travel”.

Bus services will be resumed only within the state and these will ply between districts, she said. On May 16, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had announced that curfew restrictions will be lifted from May 18 and these would be replaced by lockdown guidelines till May 31. He had then also indicated resumption of limited public transport.

(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)