Noida: A fleet of 11 buses pulled up outside the Botanical Garden Metro station around noon on Friday, taking commuters by surprise. They came equipped with air-conditioning, emergency buttons, luggage carriers and a charging port at each of the 40 seats.As the first bus rolled out at 12.05 with eight passengers, TOI was on board for the inaugural journey to Noida International Airport via Pari Chowk.Prachi Tomar, a Dadri resident, bought the first ticket. “I had been waiting for transport for 15 minutes. I did not know about this service; it was a very nice surprise,” she said. Tomar said taking private buses was a struggle because the vehicles were overloaded at terminals before departing. “People push each other during rush hour. But this problem has now been solved,” she said.Aditya Tiwari, a BTech student at a private engineering college in Greater Noida, said he had read about the service in newspapers. “I did not expect it to be launched so soon. There was no wait once we boarded, and plenty of space. In private buses, I usually have to stand in the aisle,” he said.Anjali, a BEd student at a Greater Noida college and resident of GK-1 in Delhi, called the buses a blessing. “There is still no connectivity between Sector 51 and Sector 52 metro stations and we had to walk. Also, the temperature is very high and there is a high risk of sunstroke. The air-conditioned buses are a huge relief,” she said.The starting fare is Rs 20. Till Pari Chowk, which took 40 minutes, the tickets are priced at Rs 30 and the fare to Noida airport is Rs 50.All eight passengers got off at Pari Chowk. The vehicle waited 15 minutes for additional travellers before resuming its journey at 1.10pm.It travelled via Noida Expressway and, after entering Greater Noida, took the service lane of Yamuna Expressway, connecting Gautam Buddha University, Galgotias University, Film City (YEIDA) and several sectors and villages along the route.Driver Vimal Kumar stopped and asked locals for directions at various points before reaching the airport at 2.30 pm. He said the journey would be smoother from now on because the route had become familiar.The bus began its return journey to Botanical Garden without any passengers at 2.40 pm. At Pari Chowk, around 3.20pm, a family of three boarded. Taufeek Alam said they were headed to Greater Noida from Rabupura. “We got a lift from a cab on Yamuna Expressway. Had we known about this service, we would have taken the bus from Rabupura,” he said.The bus arrived at its destination at 4pm, completing the trip in 80 minutes.
