PRTC to launch 100 mini buses for rural routes
Aiming to provide public transport facilities in rural and small stations, the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) has decided to add 100 mini buses to its fleet.
Aiming to provide public transport facilities in rural and small stations, the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) has decided to add 100 mini buses to its fleet.
Of the total buses, 50 will be owned by PRTC itself, while the rest would run on per km basis.
The Hindustan Times has learnt that PRTC has already got a formal approval from Punjab infrastructure development board (PIDB) to go ahead with its proposal.
Sources said PRTC has cut short its earlier plan of adding 250 ordinary buses to its fleet and that the corporation would come up with only 225 buses. The 100 mini buses will fill in for the remaining 25 normal buses, which had been planned to be purchased.
The mini buses would not only help PRTC streamline its services in rural areas, but also generate income by cutting cost on maintenance and diesel.
PRTC managing director Manjit Singh Narang said these buses will cater to the areas within 25 km radius, especially in remote areas of each of the nine depots. “As compared to an ordinary bus, which costs `19 lakh, a mini bus comes for `14 lakh. Moreover, it usually gives mileage of 6 km per litre than 4.5 km per litre of a bigger bus,” Narang said.
Earlier, the PRTC ran 54-seater buses on the rural routes, which recorded lesser number of passengers, thus generating paltry income.
“Besides the idea of improving our feasibility, the expenditure cost cutting is one of the major factors to come up with idea of starting mini buses… it was unnecessary to run ordinary buses on dull routes,” Narang said. The mini buses would prove to be a boon for students, he added. Narang said the order for the new mini buses will be placed soon and will likely begin operating by August.
