CTU set to rev up operations with 80 new buses

Public transport looks set for a boost as the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) has initiated the process to procure new buses. The central government has approved Rs 44 crore for the expansion of CTU fleet.

Public transport looks set for a boost as the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) has initiated the process of procuring new buses. The central government has approved Rs 44 crore for the expansion of CTU fleet.

HT Image

With this, nearly 80 new buses would be bought within the current fiscal year, officials of the CTU told HT, adding that the administration has already given the in-principle nod.

At present, there are 102 low-floor air-conditioned (AC) buses in the CTU's local fleet, while there are around 150 non-AC buses, which carry around 1.76 lakh passengers everyday.

The union ministry of finance approved the outlay for the procurement after the Chandigarh administration demanded the money under its plan head. "We plan to buy low-floor buses, which primarily be for the city's periphery and adjoining towns," an official said.

The step has come as breather for the CTU, as in the last financial year, it had failed to avail of the opportunity to get funds from the ministry of urban development, which had offered the UT administration the grant to procure 86 city buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

The Centre had agreed to provide 80% of the cost, but the project did not mature as the UT submitted a formal proposal only in the last quarter.