As part of phasing out fossil fuel-powered buses from the city limits, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) – SWIFT, the new legal entity formed under the corporation for centralised operation of long-distance buses and electric buses – will roll out 113 more new electric buses in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation limits under the Smart City project.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the handing-over of the first batch of 60 vehicles purchased at a cost of ₹104 crore to Transport Minister Antony Raju at a function to be held here on Government Model Boys Higher Secondary School grounds on August 26. The remaining buses are expected to be made available for service by the September-October period.
With the introduction of new electric buses, the low-floor buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) will be shifted to rural units in the district. The routes for the new buses would be finalised by August 26, said Mr. Raju at a joint conference with Minister for Local Self-Governments M.B. Rajesh here on Tuesday.
Announcing that there would be more circular services and point-to-point services, the Minister said that public opinion would be taken into account before finalising the routes of the new buses.
The introduction of more electric buses under the Smart City project will help authorities turn the city green, said Mr. Rajesh. The introduction of 113 electric buses will take the total number of electric buses to be operated in the city to 163 as the KSRTC has already pressed into service 50 electric buses on various routes.
App launched
The Ministers also launched an app called ‘Margadarshi’, developed by Smart City, during the occasion. The app will help the public to track the buses in real-time, find nearby bus stops, and plan trips. As many as 500 buses can be tracked using the GPS facility associated with the intelligent traffic management system. A trial version of ‘My KSRTC’ app for real-time travel information on city circular buses will also be launched by the corporation.
The KSRTC-SWIFT will also launch its two seater-cum-sleeper hybrid hi-tech buses purchased using the security deposit of employees under the public utility on August 26. The new hybrid buses – one AC and a non-AC bus with each having 15 berths and 27 seats – will be pressed into service on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod route.
Mr. Raju said the the KSRTC will purchase more new buses if the pilot project becomes a success.
The KSRTC had issued coupons for employees during the time of Onam last year on the directions of the court, he added.
