CTU places order for 49 new midsize buses
After placing order for 49 new mid-size buses, the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) has initiated the purchase of another 170 buses.
After placing order for 49 new mid-size buses, the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) has initiated the purchase of another 170 buses.
According to officials, CTU has invited tenders from manufactures for supplying 170 new mid-size buses so as to increase the number of buses that run on local routes for the convenience of city residents.
Prior to placing order for 49 new buses, the administration had made similar attempts in the last none of it could be processed as the participating companies - Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland - had refused to accept the terms and conditions laid by them.
As opposed to a sanction for 517 buses in total, the CTU has been managing with 315 which carry over 1 lakh people every day. Of those on the road, 117 buses have completed t hei r lifespan of eight years, but the CTU is forced to use these once they have got their approvals.
There are around 100 routes covered by CTU in the tricity, and the shor tage of buses has further reduced the frequency at which these buses travel on the designated routes daily.
To make the city’s public transportation more effective, the centre has allocated Rs 124 crore to the administration for the next fiscal year.
The authorities also plan to purchase 400 new buses under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) besides purchasing 50 new buses as replacement of the condemned buses. Annually, CTU has been incurring losses worth Rs 3 crore and the recent increase in the diesel prices will add Rs 2 lakh per day to the existing losses.