Chandigarh to get 200 long-route buses; no charge for differently-abled in AC buses
Keeping in view the demand for long-route buses by Chandigarh Transport Undertaking, the UT transport department has decided to get 200 buses, in the meeting held here on Tuesday.
Keeping in view the demand for long-route buses by Chandigarh Transport Undertaking, the UT transport department has decided to get 200 buses, in the meeting held here on Tuesday.
As of now, 80 CTU buses are plying on the long routes for Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.
The procedure of finalising the proposal, inviting the tenders and allotting the technical bids is expected to take at least four months, before the buses are procured.
Transport secretary KK Jindal said the proposal to get 200 buses will be placed for clearance from the top officials of UT administration by director transport.
It has been decided that 20% super luxury buses, 20% ordinary non-AC buses and 60% ordinary AC buses will be procured.
This will meet the demand of the residents to include more long-route buses. Moreover, no new bus has been added in the fleet for past five years.
The sources stated that the UT transport department has a budget of Rs 8 crore for this proposal.
An ordinary bus costs around Rs 22 lakh and a super luxury bus goes up to Rs 1 crore.
In the procurement of super luxury buses, the administration is working on a model of involving private sector and the said company will be responsible for the drivers and maintenance of the bus.
The transport department will deploy its conductors and will take a fixed share per km from the private operators.
The CTU is facing a shortage of over 219 buses, with 80 buses already phased out in the past two years.
No charge for differently abled aboard CTU AC buses
UT administration has decided to offer free travel to the differently abled in CTU air-conditioned buses. Last year, the administration had waived tickets on the non-AC buses for the disabled. The decision will be notified in couple of days.
