Junagadh firm to start transport service in Rajkot

Rajkot Urban Transportation (RUT) project sanctioned under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM) Scheme will finally start running in Rajkot shortly as a Junagadh-based private operator Raj City Bus Service bags the project for same.

Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) officials are already considering ticket distribution network of 1,000 retailers and a network of 100 bus stops across the 23 wards of Rajkot city.

In a pre-bid opening session on Monday evening for the work to procure, own and operate city bus transport in Rajkot city, two bidders had submitted their bid, "Actually four operators, Junagadh based Raj City Bus Service, Bhavnagar-based VITCOS Transportation, one private operator S D Langa and Jamnaga-based Kargil Parivahan operated by ex-serviceman had formally accepted the bidding applications, of which only two bidders finally turned out on the scheduled date," explained Vijay Anadkat, City Engineer (Special) at Rajkot Municipal Corporation.

Tender is being awarded to the Raj City Bus Services because they have agreed to pay Rs 60.5 lakh in their first seven years of operation, whereas VITCOS agreed to pay Rs 5.1 lakh in their first seven years of operations, as a result VITCOS turned out to be the lowest bidder and Raj turned out be the highest bidder and so the RUT contract is being awarded to Raj, added Anadkat.

In the first phase, Raj City Bus Services has agreed to operate on the 45 routes in Rajkot city as operated by Gujarat State Regional Transport Corporation (GSRTC) and would be rolling out fleet of 50 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-fuelled buses.

Slowly and gradually 200 buses would be slotted in the same system, as our objective is that maximum number of people residing in Rajkot should avail benefits of this facility, explains Anadkat.

As far as the frequency of buses is considered, it would be available every 10 minutes in peak hours on the existing 45 routes.

The corporation has also asked city bus service operator to create network of 1,000 plus distribution points in the first years, from where passengers can avail tickets. Assurance for creating similar distribution network has also been given by the operator to RMC.

Tickets for RUT would be sold in two formats, as monthly tickets and retail tickets for single route journey, discounts shall be offered on monthly tickets which would be in form of coupons. Both types of tickets would be made available from distribution points.