Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation to add 2,200 diesel buses to fleet

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The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), one of India's biggest bus fleets with 17,000 buses, is buying more than 2,000 diesel buses to make up for its losses and regain passengers lost during the COVID-19-caused lockdown and the subsequent strike by its employees.

With the aim to make 33 per cent of its fleet electric, the MSRTC had earlier placed an order for over 5,150 e-buses. Now it has placed an order for 2,200 ready-built diesel buses complying with BS6 emission standards.

These buses will be manned by MSRTC drivers across Maharashtra and for interstate operations on all types of roads and atmospheric conditions. The opening of the bids is scheduled for January 15.

"An order has been placed for 2,200 11-metre-long ready-built diesel buses wherein the supplier will be tasked with maintenance for five years as per maintenance practices established by the MSRTC. The buses will have a minimum of 41 2x2 push-back seats, including co-driver (same as passenger seat) and one driver's seat. The seats will have seat belts wherever necessary. The diesel buses will also have a USB charging socket of sufficient capacity on the side wall for passengers to charge their phones. The buses should also have a passenger address system as per regulations," an MSRTC official said.

On the other hand, MSRTC's electric buses have also started arriving. Of the 5,150 electric buses, 2,800 will be 12 metres long and 2,350 will be nine-metre-long vehicles. The shorter buses will be used on routes in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), including Vasai-Virar, Palghar and Kalyan. The MSRTC hopes that the electrification will significantly reduce its diesel expenses, which currently account for a large portion of its operational costs. It has already introduced electric buses on the Mumbai-Pune Shivneri bus route, and they have been very popular with passengers.

The electric buses are being procured under the Fame-2 subsidy scheme of the Central government. To ensure uninterrupted journeys, MSRTC is also installing multiple fast e-charging points at various bus depots across the state. One e-bus takes about two hours to charge fully and has a range of 300 km on a single charge, suitable for a round trip between Mumbai and Pune.