Planets, periodic table and noble thoughts: An MSRTC bus that draws students in droves

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A state transport bus in Maharashtra's Beed district has become a huge draw among students for its education-themed interiors after its driver and conductor took it upon themselves to make the ride fun-filled and informative.

From outside, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus appears no different from the thousands of similar passenger carriers, with a white-orange colour scheme, plying across the state.

But the ST bus turns vibrant with an array of images and messages pasted on the roof and side walls, resembling a mobile classroom inside.

"Students love what we have done to the interiors of the bus. In fact, more students are now travelling on our bus," conductor Vaishali Mule told PTI over the phone on Friday.

The bus covers a distance of 200 km daily, both ways, to pick up students from their respective villages and drop them back from schools on the Beed-Nalwandi route.

Mule said she and her driver colleague Siraj Pathan have spent Rs 35,000 from their own pockets to deck out the bus with educational materials, visuals concerning personalities like Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Swami Vivekananda and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and messages imparting values.

"Most of the students using our bus are children of labourers engaged in sugarcane cutting. These families didn't bother much about sending their kids to schools. We think our initiative has changed that as more students, including girls, are going to school," she said.

While bright images of planets in the solar system have been plastered on the roof, the bus also has a periodic table and photos and information about yoga asanas (poses), she said. The bus has become a hit among students, she added.

"Students of Vishwanath school in Wangi and Sangameshwar Vidyalaya at Nalwandi travel on our bus. Our seniors Ajay More, Shivraj Karad, Nilesh Pawar helped us in this project," Mule said.

Divisional Transport Superintendent of Beed Shivraj Karad said the only aim of the project is to encourage families to send their children to school.

"The driver and conductor of the bus took the initiative and we supported them. The number of students travelling by this bus has risen to 290 from 200 in a year. The increase in the number of students, particularly girls, is notable," he added.