About 450 city buses will start plying in 70 big and small cities of Chhattisgarh soon. A total of 21 key cities and 49 link towns have been included for the launch of the bus service. Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand chaired the meeting of the senior officers here where it was informed that the tendering process for the purchase of buses have also been completed.
Orders have been issued to prepare a route chart, time-table and selection of bus operators soon. It may be mentioned here that Chief Minister Raman Singh chaired a Cabinet meeting on January 16 in which it was decided to link Raipur to Abhanpur, Rajim, Mandirhasud, and Arang to Mantralaya, and the nearby towns of headquarters Dhamtari,Kabirdham,Jashpur,Kanker,Gariyaband, Balod and Mahasamund.
In June last year, the State Government had constituted nine Public Transport Societies (PTS) for operation of city bus services in nine major cities and towns. Funds to the tune of Rs1.60 crore have been allocated to these societies for the purpose. According to official sources, the societies have been constituted for Raipur, Durg-Bhilai, Bilaspur, Rajnandgaon, Korba, Raigarh, Ambikapur, Chirmiri and Jagdalpur.
Notably, the State Government has also created ‘Urban Traffic Fund’ and the management of the same will be in the hands of respective PTS. The fund will be provided from the interest received by concerned Municipal Corporation on the funds received for development work. Raipur received a fund of Rs20 lakh, Durg-Bhilai Rs25 lakh, Bilaspur Rs20 lakh while Rajnandgaon, Korba, Raigarh, Ambikapur, Chirmiri and Jagdalpur have been allocated Rs15 lakh each.
The Government has issued directives for opening accounts in the listed nationalised banks in the name of respective PTS for ‘Urban Traffic Fund.’ From the funds, expenses like stationary, electricity, telephone expenses etc will be met. However, the salary of the officers and employees will be paid by the concerned Municipal Corporation.
For utilisation of income generated through the service, separate instructions will be issued by UAD in this regard. This apart, the Chhattisgarh Government has floated ‘Naya Raipur Mass Transport Company’ for ensuring proper management of public transport system in the State’s new administrative capital, officials said.
The Naya Raipur Development Authority (NRDA) has also formed a Board of Directors for the new company. Naya Raipur would have 10 bus shelters and a depot. A total of 40 premium and 10 mini buses are being purchased under BRTS. The buses would be operated with a automated mechanism and ticket services would be offered in line with the metros.
Notably, The World Bank has extended support to Rs179 crore ‘Bus Rapid Transit System’ (BRTS) project currently under implementation which would have 40 air-conditioned buses plying between Raipur and Naya Raipur, officials stated. Tata Motors will supply 40 buses to Naya Raipur Development Authority (NRDA) for its BRTS) project.
The buses being purchased by the Chhattisgarh government from Tata Motors would ply between Raipur and Naya Raipur under BRTS mode. The buses are fitted with CCTV cameras that can record each and every movement inside the bus. Wider passage-way for free movement, wider window panes for better visibility along with wider and lower entry/exit doors, make these new buses safe and convenient for commuters to enjoy public transportation.
Tata URBAN buses incorporate Intelligence Transport Systems (ITS) for public information, through GPS via electronic destination display boards, indicating expected time of arrival at bus stops and route announcements within the bus. These buses also enhance the operational efficiency for State Transport Units (STU’s), as these are compatible to hook-up with a central control room server, through which an operator monitors the performance of each bus in terms of number of trips, off-road position, adherence to pre-scheduled maintenance by monitoring real-time health of the bus, through OBD (on-board diagnostics).
Through this feature operators can also moderate and redesign the frequency of buses on every route, it stated. New generation ISBe Cummins fuel efficient engines in the Tata ‘URBAN’, with new 6-speed overdrive gear box and cable shift mechanism for effortless gear shifts, ensures adequate pick-up and power while ferrying passengers. A large number of Tata ‘URBAN’ buses fitted with ‘Automatic Transmission’, ensures greater on-road performance for a smooth jerk-free ride, officials stated.