Filed Under · Unofficial
Bus Stands Nobody Uses
Air-conditioned terminals the buses collectively agreed to skip, while passengers wait at the old stand a kilometre away.
Ranked by Notoriety
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Nayta Mundla ISBT: India's Emptiest Airport-Style Bus Terminal
Built with airport-like infrastructure (AC waiting areas, food court, LED displays) to serve as Indore's central ISBT ahead of Simhastha 2028. In September 2025 authorities forcibly shut the older Navlakha and Teen Imli bus stands and redirected all routes here, but as of March 2026 the terminal remains largely deserted because it is too far from the city, raises operator fuel costs, and breaks previously viable routes. Buses and passengers continue to use informal roadside pickup points in the city instead.
Peenya Bus Terminal: KSRTC's ₹37 Crore White Elephant
Built on six acres to divert hundreds of bus services away from the overcrowded Kempegowda Bus Station (Majestic) in central Bengaluru, the Peenya terminal instead caused KSRTC to lose about ₹12 crore within just six months of shifting services there, because its remote location discouraged ridership. KSRTC was forced to reverse course and move the services back to Majestic, leaving the newly built terminal functioning far below its intended capacity.
Rajpura Bus Stand: Abandoned Into a Vehicle Dumping Ground
The New Rajpura Bus Stand was inaugurated on NH-1 but was never adopted for actual bus operations; carriers kept stopping at Gagan Chowk instead. Over a decade on, the site has degenerated into an informal vehicle-repair yard and dumping ground for broken trucks, overrun with wild grass, with PRTC even disclaiming ownership of the facility.
Madikeri Private Bus Stand: No Takers Amid Garbage
A new private bus stand built to replace the old, congested Madikeri private bus stand found few takers because garbage dumped throughout the facility deterred both bus operators and passengers from using it, leaving the modern structure underutilized despite being newly constructed.
Karikkamuri KSRTC Bus Stand: Modernisation Stalled Mid-Plan
Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) approved ₹12 crore in April 2023 to modernise the Karikkamuri KSRTC bus stand into an integrated terminal for KSRTC and private buses, appointing the State Construction Corporation as executing agency in January 2024. But a land-exchange dispute between the Transport Department and Local Self-Government Department, followed by CSML shifting policy to require central government funding approval and then CSML's own tenure expiring in January 2025, left the project "practically defunct" with no funds and no construction, as of mid-2025.
Kozhikode KSRTC Terminal: Ceiling Collapse After Ignored Warning
A false ceiling section at the Kozhikode KSRTC bus terminal collapsed in the early morning of June 12, 2026, injuring two passengers with head injuries. An IIT Madras structural assessment had already flagged the building for "structural weakness" back in 2021, but no repairs were carried out in the intervening five years, and the terminal's second-floor ceiling reportedly remains in a similarly hazardous state.
Sarai Kale Khan ISBT Revamp
Sanctioned in 2008 to redevelop Delhi's Sarai Kale Khan ISBT into a modern multimodal hub, the project has been repeatedly derailed: first by building-height restrictions near Humayun's Tomb and Metro Phase III works, then by NCRTC's decision to build an elevated (rather than underground) Delhi-Meerut RRTS station on the same site, forcing a fresh Detailed Project Report and all 11 approvals to be sought again. Meanwhile a 2024 investigative report found the existing terminal, serving over 50,000 daily passengers, riddled with broken seating, non-functional fans, contaminated water points, and a platform illegally used as a police parking lot.
Chitrakonda Bus Stand: Cracks Before the Ribbon Was Even Cut
A newly built bus stand in Chitrakonda developed large, visible fractures in its concrete flooring before it was even inaugurated, alarming local residents who feared the damage would worsen once buses and heavy vehicles began regular use. Contractors responded by applying a pitch layer over the cracked concrete, which residents dismissed as cosmetic patching rather than a genuine structural fix, and demanded a full technical investigation and accountability before the facility opens to the public.
Faridabad International Bus Stand: ₹1,000 Crore Project Stuck on Paper
Billed as Haryana's first "international-level" bus stand with AC waiting areas, food courts, retail and digital ticketing across four phases, the project's Detailed Project Report was submitted in April 2022 but sat awaiting state government approval more than a year later, since any project over ₹100 crore requires Chief Minister's Office sign-off. The proposed PPP structure has also drawn opposition from the Haryana Roadways Workers Union, which calls it privatization of a government asset.
Adabari Bus Station: Once a Lifeline, Now Overgrown With Grass
Once the lifeline bus station connecting Guwahati to Lower Assam, Adabari was left to decay after services were shifted to the ISBT and Khanapara without matching infrastructure being built at the new sites. As of December 2025 the once-bustling terminal was reported "overgrown with grass and marked by silence," with only occasional vehicle repairs and a single bus still operating from the area.
Arif Nagar Bus Stand: Five Years, Three Phases, Still Unfinished
Meant to replace the Putli Ghar and Nadra bus stands and cut congestion in central Bhopal by handling roughly 150 buses, the project has run more than five years past its original timeline and over three years past its revised deadline. Despite officials claiming 80% completion, passenger platforms, roofing, and finishing work remain unfinished, and contractors are pressing the municipal corporation for site handover to release pending payments.
Fazilka Bus Terminal: Inaugurated, Then Turned Into a Parking Lot
Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi inaugurated this new bus terminal on municipal council land in December 2021, but over two years later it has never actually been used for buses, instead becoming a parking lot for defunct Municipal Council vehicles. A dispute between the Fazilka Municipal Council and the state Transport Department over entry fees (~₹20 lakh/year), plus the absence of a workshop and fuelling infrastructure at the new site, has kept it shut while passengers continue to use the old, congested in-town bus stand.
Baba Banda Singh Bahadur ISBT: "Everything But Buses"
Billed as the country's first fully air-conditioned ISBT, this three-terminal, 1,900-bus-capacity facility opened in December 2016 but was reported within months to be finding "no takers": passengers continued using the older, dilapidated Phase VIII stand and Chandigarh's Sector 43 ISBT instead, and years later locals still described buses entering and exiting "without stopping" as almost no passengers were present.
Jawali Bus Stand: 15 Years of Route to Nowhere
Inaugurated by then-CM Prem Kumar Dhumal in 2009, the bus stand has sat completely unused for roughly 15 years even though about 80 private and HRTC buses hold route permits for it, all of them instead stopping about a kilometer away at Keharian Chowk. With no maintenance ever performed, the site has no retaining wall and has become a garbage dumping ground, and the local market economy has visibly declined as a result.
Noida Sector 82 City Bus Terminal: ₹158 Crore, Locked Gates
An eight-storey terminal built by the Noida Authority with waiting areas, a food court, ticketing counters and parking for 522 vehicles, meant to be the city's centralized bus transit hub operated by UPSRTC. Nearly five years after inauguration the main gate remains locked with no buses or passengers ever having used it; electricity and CCTV still run, but furniture and seating are deteriorating from disuse, as the Noida Authority failed to get either the state transport department or the central Ministry of Transport to take over operations.
Narwal ISBT: Jammu's Bus Terminal Nobody Uses
Built to decongest Jammu city by shifting all bus operations away from the old, centrally located general bus stand, the Narwal ISBT was used only briefly before both private and government buses reverted to the old bus stand, which passengers still preferred. Today it functions mainly as a parking lot for private buses and trucks; ticket counters sit deserted, and benches are occupied by stray dogs and slum dwellers, while city-center traffic congestion it was meant to fix persists.
Jagatsinghpur Modern Bus Stand: Built, Furnished, Never Opened
Nearly 18 months after construction was finished, this modern bus stand in Jagatsinghpur has never been operationalised because it was never formally handed over to the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC). Electrical fittings and furniture installed inside are deteriorating from disuse, the premises have reportedly become a gathering spot for anti-social elements, and passengers continue to wait for buses roadside with no shelter.
Somanur Bus Stand: Roof Collapse (Sunshade With No Support Column)
A roughly 100-foot-long, 15-foot-deep concrete sunshade cantilevered off the main Somanur bus stand building collapsed on commuters sheltering from rain, killing at least 9 people and trapping around 20, with 7 admitted to a government hospital and more treated privately. An official confirmed the shade had "no supporting column" for its 15-foot span, and that days of continuous heavy rainfall likely weakened the unsupported structure until it gave way.
TNSTC Porayar Depot: Roof Collapse
A roof collapsed at the TNSTC Porayar branch depot, crushing at least 8 people to death and seriously injuring 3 others in morning hours. The incident, occurring at a state transport corporation facility, added to a string of bus-infrastructure roof failures in Tamil Nadu the same year, though detailed causes and follow-up structural findings were not widely publicized.