The Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) is set to add 219 new buses to its fleet to improve transport services in the state, transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said on Tuesday.
Bhullar said the buses were being added to the PRTC fleet to meet the demand following new bus route permits issued by the state government.
“The process of including the buses under kilometre scheme has been initiated and a tender has already been floated, the last date for which is August 2,” said the minister, adding that chief minister Bhagwant Mann has approved the plan.
The minister said the bus operator/owner will provide a brand new bus to the PRTC under the kilometre scheme. The responsibility of maintenance, driver, insurance and loan repayment will lie with the owner and monthly payment will be made to him as per the minimum rate of the tender and according to the kilometres completed by the bus, he said.
As per the scheme, the PRTC will provide only conductor for the bus and route income from the bus will be credited to the account of the corporation. With these new buses, the PRTC will be able to meet its set mileage and provide better travel facilities to the people, besides increasing its income, said the minister.
{{/usCountry}}As per the scheme, the PRTC will provide only conductor for the bus and route income from the bus will be credited to the account of the corporation. With these new buses, the PRTC will be able to meet its set mileage and provide better travel facilities to the people, besides increasing its income, said the minister.
{{/usCountry}}On the newly launched Volvo bus service from Punjab to the Delhi airport, Bhullar said that around 17,500 passengers have traveled in these buses in less than a month. He said that 20 Volvo buses of Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC are daily operating from Amritsar, Pathankot, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Patiala, Nawanshahr, Ropar, Moga and Chandigarh to the IGI Airport in New Delhi, ending the monopoly of private transporters.