Msrtc To Start New Services

MUMBAI: An unprecedented 38% growth in the number of passengers travelling by air-conditioned (AC) buses from Mumbai to Pune in the past one year has prompted the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to introduce 60 Volvos on the route from next month.

The state road transport body saw an increase in passenger traffic from 24 lakhs to 33 lakhs in the past one year. Managing director Deepak Kapoor said most of the buses were booked well in advance. In comparison, there was a 27% growth in passenger traffic in semi-luxury buses or Asiads.

Kapoor said, "We want to provide more value-added service in AC buses and an on-board catering service (the first of its kind in India) is one of them." He said the Mumbai-Pune route was not only a major revenue earner but it also catered to passengers ranging from middle-class families to those from upmarket areas.

MSRTC plans AC bus services from Mumbai to Bengaluru and resumption of its Volvo service to Panjim in Goa from April, following the Mumbai-Pune route's success. "In 2010, we introduced Sheetal buses, a combination of semi-luxury and AC buses, which were affordable and cheaper by Rs 90, compared to AC Volvos. We tapped a huge market which appreciated our innovative AC buses," he said. MSRTC will also introduce 25 more Sheetal buses this year. He said there was a demand for introducing more AC Volvos from Thane and Borivli to Pune. The new Volvos will be deployed on these routes, he said.

Kapoor said MSRTC planned to get sturdier buses from next month. "Five buses with mild steel bodies will join the fleet next week. We will also have two jumbo AC buses with multi-axles, which will again be deployed on the Mumbai Pune route." The midi-buses will serve rural areas and far-flung suburbs like Mira Road, Panvel an d Vasai-Virar. Buses will be introduced on the Pune-Nashik and Pune-Aurangabad routes too. Around 240 crore passengers travel by over 16,000 MSRTC buses across the state annually. Kapoor said they also plan to recruit 14,000 drivers this year.

An MSRTC PR official said, "Apart from the 60 Volvos, we have ordered 160 semi-luxury buses, 350 midi-buses and 3,000 Parivartan (standard) buses this year." He said the corporation had made huge profits from ticket sales in the past few years and planned to redesign its buses with mild steel.