NMMT fleet to get 195 new buses

Pitiable roads and rickety buses make a perfect concoction for a pathetic journey at least on the roads of Navi Mumbai. Now, at a time when the state government and transport bodies are following the ‘Road Safety Fortnight', the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) has decided to procure 195 new buses.

New additions: NMMT is planning on scrapping 50 old, rundown buses and introduce the fresh lot. File Pic

Four types
According to sources, the NMMT is looking at procuring four different types of buses. These different models will run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and diesel, and will comprise both AC and non-AC ones. But, their floor height differs. Officials stated that they would be procuring 75 normal buses that would be 650 mm above the height from the ground, 50 AC buses having floor height of 400 mm, 60 non-AC midibuses having a floor height of 900 mm, and 10 hybrid buses. All these would then be added to the NMMT's fleet of buses.

Money matters
The total cost of procuring these 195 buses will be Rs 2.43 crore. "These buses will start coming in by August this year in phases. In the first round, we will procure 30 buses, another 30 buses will come by November and gradually the rest would come in the year 2015," said GC Mangle, general manager, NMMT.

Presently, the fleet comprises 336 buses, of which 50 old and rickety buses will be scrapped and gradually the new lot would be added. The transport body has already decided to bring out clean buses from their depots, following complaints from people about dirty buses, dusty seats and papers and covers strewn around. Of the total number of buses, at least 235 buses are on the roads, while rest are under maintenance. Each bus takes 20 minutes to be washed and there are just two washers.

Rs 70 lakh
Cost of 75 non-AC buses

Rs 1.05 crore
Cost of AC buses

Rs 39 lakh
Cost of non-AC midibuses

Rs 29 lakh
Cost of hybrid buses