As on date, the state has only two Volvo coaches on commercial run to carry passengers to and fro between Patna and Ranchi as well as Patna and Jamshedpur. The service is yielding profits to Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation.

"The boom in the state's transport business will be possible only if the roads are upgraded. This is being done. So, in the next one or two years, we must expect a real boom. With more super-luxury coaches plying, the road journey across the state will really become enjoyable," said a transport department official.

According to road construction department (RCD) sources, around 49% of over 13,000 kms of district roads, state highways as well as national highways have been upgraded. The district roads are around 8,000 km long, followed by 2,035 km of state highways and around 3,000 km of national highways. "The department is monitoring their construction and upgradation activities," an RCD official said, adding a major part of the ongoing work is likely to be completed by next year.

The transport business would see a boom after that. As of now, people venture out of their places in buses, private cars/SUVs, taxis and two-wheelers. Interestingly, the number of such vehicles has increased in the state over the last few decades, especially after Bihar State Road Transport Corporation became incapable of running its buses to profit. As on March 31 this year, the state had 19,654 private buses, 1,03,077 cars/SUVs, 30,857 taxis and 13,64,757 two wheelers plying on the roads.

Their concentration, by and large, is in seven districts (and their cities), which also have historical and tourism attractions __ Patna, Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Rohtas (Sasaram), Bhojpur (Ara), Bhagalpur and Munger. They together account for 12,620 private buses, 84,767 cars/SUVs, 16,267 taxis and 7,28,004 two-wheelers. However, Patna (being the state capital), Muzaffarpur (a major transit point on the road going in all directions) and Gaya (being a tourism centre on the Buddhist circuit) take the obvious lead, with Patna far ahead of them, accounting for 5,017 buses, 62,595 cars/SUVs, 5,152 taxis and 3,56,024 two-wheelers.