# Assam State Transport Corporation

Assam State Transport Corporation or ASTC is a state government owned road transport corporation of Assam, India which provides bus services within Assam and adjoining states. Assam State Transport was started as a state government department with only two buses to run between Guwahati and Nagaon. Gradually the transport network of the department expanded throughout the state of Assam. Currently ASTC has 10 divisions, 135 bus stations and 3 Inter State Bus Terminals (Guwahati, Jorhat and Silchar) across the state.

## History

Assam State Transport Corporation was a wing of transport department of Government of Assam before it was a corporation. It was formed as "Road Transport, Assam" under Home Department on 16 January 1948. Assam State Transport was started as a state government department with two buses to run between Guwahati and Nagaon. The state transport department was converted to a Corporation under Road Transport Corporation Act 1950 on 31 March 1970.
The state has a target to convert all its bus fleets to electric bus by 2030, and starting 2025 will purchase only electric buses. On 1 January 2024, ASTC launched 200 AC electric buses for Guwahati and its adjoining areas.
Five charging stations are currently being established at strategic locations including Jagiroad, Baihata Chariali, Mirza, ASTC’s Rupnagar campus, and the ISBT in the Lokhra area of Guwahati. The Rupnagar station, featuring 16 charging points, has been completed and is operational.

## List of Chairpersons

List of Chairpersons of Assam State Transport Corporation :
| Nos. | Name | Transport Minister | Appointment date | Retirement date |
| 1. | ? | Chandan Brahma | 2006 | 2011 |
| 2. | ? | Chandan Brahma | 2011 | 2016 |
| 2. | ? | Tarun Gogoi | 2011 | 2016 |
| 2. | ? | Ajit Singh | 2011 | 2016 |
| 3. | ? | Chandra Mohan Patowary | 2016 | 2018 |
| 4. | Ashok Kumar Bhattarai | Chandra Mohan Patowary | 2018 | 2021 |
| 5. | Mission Ranjan Das | Chandra Mohan Patowary | 8 December 2021 | 7 September 2024 |
| 5. | Mission Ranjan Das | Parimal Suklabaidya | 8 December 2021 | 7 September 2024 |
| 5. | Mission Ranjan Das | Keshab Mahanta | 8 December 2021 | 7 September 2024 |
| 6. | Pallab Lochan Das | Keshab Mahanta | 1 October 2024 | Incumbent |

## Services

ASTC is the lifeline of road transport connectivity of the state as it operates buses on highways, city roads and even in the remote rural areas. The present chairperson is Ashok Kumar Bhattarai. It operates a fleet of 585 buses including Hi-Tech Luxury (AC/Non AC) buses for long distances and Hi-Tech semi and mini deluxe bus services for city and rural areas. The subsidiary Assam State Urban Transport Corporation operates the city bus services within Guwahati city. There are also many private buses operating under ASTC. Apart from that the corporation also partnered with some private Volvo bus operators to operate on Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.

## Types of services

General services
* AC Hi-Tech Luxury Coach
* Non AC Hi-Tech Luxury Coach
* Bharat Benz Coach
* Semi Deluxe Coach
* Tata Marcopolo City Service
* Volvo 8400 B7R LE Coach
* Tata/Olectra AC Electric bus service
Premium services
* Volvo Semi-Sleeper Coach fleets operated through PPP mode.
ASTC City Cabs service
* The city cab service was introduced for Guwahati.

## ASTC Uberization

Uberization scheme was introduced by ASTC on 11 August 2020 to operate private buses for a minimum period of 5 years under ASTC.

## Divisions

ASTC has 10 traffic divisions across the state. These are - Tinsukia Division, Nagaon Division, Silchar Division, Jorhat Division, Sivasagar Division, Bongaigaon Division, Lakhimpur Division, Tezpur Division, Greater Guwahati Region City Service Division and ISBT-Guwahati Division.

## Contribution

ASTC donated bus for the cancer patients of Assam. They had donated 20 BharatBenz buses to shift cancer patients from Assam to Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.