The parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture recommended that the road transport and highways ministry allocate 25 per cent of its road budget to public transport infrastructure. The committee, chaired by Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Sanjay Kumar Jha, set out the proposal in a statement that prioritised bus network enhancements, terminal investment and passenger safety. The panel framed the shift as part of a broader move to strengthen high-capacity and lower-emission mobility.

It urged viability gap funding for terminals and testing stations and a separate authority to separate terminal ownership and operations. The committee proposed a ranking titled The State of the States to assess state performance on bus facilitation using parameters such as testing density, terminal access, emergency response and punctuality metrics from a network atlas with operator and passenger feedback and vigilance records. The first edition would name states that still operate border check posts.

The panel advised replacing the All India Tourist Permit within one year with an All India Passenger Permit issued by the state of first registration and set out rights clearly. It recommended enforcing the permit through electronic correlation of vehicle registration, FASTag and vehicle location data, commissioning monitoring centres and ending border checks in six states. The committee asked the insurance regulator to ensure injured passengers receive undisputed claim settlement.

It proposed a National Bus Terminals Authority, a National Code for Bus Terminals within one year and access rules. The committee asked the ministry to notify interoperability standards for a National Bus Digital Grid and to introduce live tracking, unified booking and crowdsourced rating system with vigilance channel. It recommended phased mandatory participation for commercial permit holders and asked the ministry to provide a measurable programme for the digital pillar within six months, noting the full report was not available.