Page 2 - Buses

Stalin flags off 100 new BS-VI buses to be inducted by state transport corp

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday flagged off 100 new BS-VI compliant buses to be inducted by the state transport corporation. These buses will replace the aging vehicles at the five Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporations at Villupuram and Coimbatore (40 buses each), Kumbakonam (10), Tirunelveli, and Madurai (5 buses each), and have been procured to modernise the existing fleet. According to an official release here, the Chief Minister had in 2022 announced that old vehicles would be replaced by procuring 1,666 new BS-VI compliant buses at an estimated cost of Rs 634.99 crore. About one hundred such buses will be inducted in the first phase. These buses were specially designed to ensure outstanding passenger comfort and equipped with advanced iGen6 BS-VI technology, featuring a robust 147 kW (197 hp) H-series engine. State Ministers S S Sivasankar (Transport), P K Sekar Babu (Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments), Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena, Additional Chie

Tenders floated to procure e-buses under Central scheme: Hardeep Puri

The government has floated tenders for procuring electric buses under the PM-eBus Sewa scheme, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday. Under the scheme, 10,000 electric buses will be provided to 169 cities under the public-private partnership model. Addressing a press conference, Puri said his ministry's officials were in touch with bus manufacturers. "Tenders have been floated to procure buses. The bidding will be completed by the end of January." According to the plan, people travelling in these buses can buy tickets through an automatic fare system while the operators will be paid based on the travel distance. The scheme, which will continue till 2037, will have an outlay of Rs 57,613 crore, of which Rs 20,000 crore will be provided by the Central government and the remaining will be borne by the states. The government said priority will be given to cities which do not have an organised bus service. Talking about his ministry's achievements

From Ashok Leyland to VECV, busmakers' sales entered the fast lane in 2023

Ashok Leyland Limited (ALL) recorded a 64 per cent year-on-year increase in sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) buses during the April-to-December period of 2023 to 11,216 units

Ashok Leyland wins order to supply 552 buses to Tamil Nadu transport corpn

Commercial vehicle manufacturer will deliver the buses from April 2024

Ban BS III and BS IV buses operating in NCR areas, says Gopal Rai

He conducted a surprise inspection of Kashmere Gate ISBT for diesel buses coming from NCR states as per the Delhi Government's efforts to tackle vehicular pollution

Adityanath flags off 51 buses with women drivers, conductors in Ayodhya

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday flagged off 51 buses of the state transport corporation that will have women drivers and conductors. On the second day of his Ayodhya tour, the chief minister inaugurated the "Mission Mahila Sarathi" from Ram Katha Park here and asserted that for the all-round development of a society, it must respect its women and protect their dignity. The 51 buses of the Uttar Pradesh Transport Corporation will have women drivers and conductors, officials said. Adityanath said those who said women cannot do certain jobs have been proved wrong by the state transport corporation. Now there are women drivers and conductors also, he said. Till now, more than 1.5 lakh "daughters" have been provided employment in Uttar Pradesh Police and other departments of the government, he said. This is now being taken forward by the transport corporation through the employment of women drivers and conductors in buses, he added. A society will be strong and

14,000 buses remain off roads in Odisha as strike cripples commuters

Passenger bus services across Odisha were hit on Friday, as the apex private bus owners' association launched its "indefinite" strike in protest against the state government's policy over plying on certain routes. Nearly 14,000 private buses remained off the streets as part of the agitation, which began at 6 am, after talks between the association and government failed to resolve the issue, officials said. Hundreds of passengers, travelling to their hometowns for the Durga Puja festivities from the state, were seen waiting in long queues at different bus stands and terminals since early morning. Association general secretary Debendra Sahu said though the Odisha government during a meeting on October 9 had assured that buses under the Location Accessible Multimodal Initiative (LAccMI) will not ply from the blocks to districts, the promise has not been kept. Odisha Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu had appealed to the private bus owners to call off the strike in view of the Durga Puja .

Govt plans to set standards for construction of bus bodies: Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said the government is considering setting standards for the construction of bus bodies, which will be uniformly applicable to both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and bus body builders. This step will pave the way for further improvements in the quality of buses in India with a primary focus on ensuring passenger safety during contingency, the road transport and highways minister said in a tweet. Gadkari emphasised that in the wake of the rising number of bus accidents, there is a pressing need to enhance the quality of bus body construction in Bharat. He said the draft notification for these standards is being published by the ministry to solicit suggestions. Gadkari expressed hope that all stakeholders will support this initiative to ensure the safety of all bus occupants.

Metro, buses capital-intensive, can not be offered free: Hardeep Singh Puri

Attacking Opposition, Puri said that the philosophy of some political parties is that all such services should be made free

The last ride: Mumbai bids farewell to iconic double-decker buses today

The double-decker buses will forever go off roads from September 15, while the open-deck buses will be pulled out on October 5

Maratha quota protests: MSRTC bus depots shut, transport body incurs losses

At least 46 out of 250 bus depots of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation have been completely shut due to protests over reservation for the Maratha community, and the MSRTC has suffered losses worth Rs 13.25 crore over the last few days, an official said. Bus operations in Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Parbhani, Hingoli, Jalna, Nanded and Dharashiv districts have been badly hit by the protests, a spokesperson of the MSRTC told PTI on Monday. As many as 20 buses were torched and 19 were damaged amid the protests over the last few days, he said. The MSRTC has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 5.25 crore due to damages to the buses and lost Rs 8 crore in ticket sales due to protests in various parts of the state, the official said. The MSRTC is one of the biggest public transport bodies in the country, with more than 15,000 buses in its fleet. It ferries around 60 lakh passengers every day.

TATA AutoComp signs pact with Skoda group to make transportation components

TATA AutoComp Systems on Wednesday said it has signed an initial pact with Skoda Group for a strategic partnership to jointly produce components for the railways, metro and bus segments. The company in a statement said it has significant play in providing systems and components for electric vehicles and the association with Skoda Group will further strengthen its presence by bringing the latest electrical equipment and components for the three segments. Tata AutoComp is into manufacturing of multiple components, systems and aggregates for passenger and commercial vehicles, two and three-wheelers as well as for farm and off-road equipment, among others. It provides these products and services to domestic and global automotive OEMs as well as Tier 1 suppliers. The agreement with Skoda Group sets the framework for a strategic joint venture aimed at producing components for the growing Indian railway and public mobility market, Tata AutoComp said in a statement. "This association with

NTPC begins trial run of hydrogen bus in Leh, setting up fuelling station

State-owned power giant NTPC has started a trial run of a hydrogen bus in Leh. Towards achieving carbon-neutral Ladakh, NTPC is setting up a hydrogen fuelling station, solar plant and providing five fuel cell buses for operation on intracity routes of Leh, a company statement said. The first hydrogen bus reached Leh on August 17 as part of a three-month-long process of field trials, roadworthiness tests and other statutory procedures. This will be India's first-ever deployment of hydrogen buses on public roads, it claimed. The first-of-its-kind Green Hydrogen Mobility Project at 11,562 ft is co-located with a dedicated solar plant of 1.7 MW for providing renewable power. The fuel cell buses are designed for operation in sub-zero temperatures in rarefied atmospheres, typical to such altitude locations, which is a unique feature of this project. NTPC is committed to achieving 60 GW of Renewable Energy capacity by 2032 and be a major player in green hydrogen technology and energy st

Cabinet approves 'PM-eBus Sewa', to deploy 10,000 e-buses in 169 cities

Out of the ₹57,613 crores outlined for the scheme, support of Rs.20,000 crore will be provided by the Central government, the Cabinet statement reads

Free bus travel for women to continue in Karnataka: Minister Reddy

Karnataka Transport Minister R Ramalinga Reddy on Wednesday asserted that Shakti scheme offering free ride in non-luxury government buses to women in the state will continue for the next 10 years. His clarification comes following some rumours being spread in the social media against the scheme. "I would like to tell the people of Karnataka, especially the school children, that some people are spreading lies that one of the poll guarantees Shakti' scheme will be stopped. Trusting the rumours, some people went to ask for a bus pass," Reddy told reporters here. He said, "Shakti scheme is going to remain for at least 10 years. There is no need for women to buy passes. Some people, especially those from a specific party, are trying to play mischief by spreading lies in the social media." As Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a meeting with the ministers and MLAs from Bengaluru, reporters asked Reddy whether there was any discussion on the stalled municipal level public works in the ...

PM-eBus Sewa: Cabinet approves Rs 57,613 cr for 10k e-buses across cities

10,000 e-buses will be deployed on a public-private partnership model across 169 cities

Most employees of BEST's private bus operators rejoin post strike in Mumbai

Most employees of private operators of BEST, Mumbai's civic transport body, re-joined duty by Wednesday evening, a day after their weeklong strike was called off, a senior official said. Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) spokesperson Sunil Vaidya told PTI that 100 per cent wet leased buses were operated with the drivers of private bus operators in the evening. In the morning, however, many contractual staffers were yet to return to duty, he said. At 10 am, the public transporter operated 97.5 per cent of the 3,040 buses in its fleet including the wet-leased ones and BEST-owned buses, Vaidya said. "However, 100 percent wet leased buses were operated with the drivers of private bus operators on Wednesday evening," he said. A BEST official said that some employees of the private bus operators did not re-join duty in the morning due to some confusion over fulfilment of their demands, but most of them rejoined duty in the evening session. So this is the first time sin

Strong growth expected in bus segment this year, says Wheels India official

Wheels India, manufacturer of wheels for trucks, tractors, passenger vehicles and construction equipment, expects the bus segment to post a strong growth during the current financial year, a top official said on Wednesday. The company also expects 'some growth' in the goods segment of the commercial vehicle industry, Wheels India Ltd chairman S Ram said here. The demand for commercial vehicles was driven by the government's infrastructure drive, higher utilisation of fleets and replacement demand in FY23, he said while addressing the shareholders virtually, during the 64th annual general meeting. "This year, there is expected to be some growth in the goods segment of the CV industry and strong growth in the bus segment driven by modernisation drive (undertaken) by the STUs (state transport undertakings) and strong demand for buses for the school/office segment. This should benefit demand for Wheels India wheels and air suspension systems," he said. On the cast aluminium wheels

School bus overturns in Jaisalmer, 30 children injured, staffer dead

A person died and around 30 schoolchildren were injured when their bus overturned in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district on Wednesday, police said. The bus was ferrying the students to their school when the accident occurred near Pokhran town, they said. "The driver lost control of the vehicle and it overturned," Assistant Sub Inspector of Sankra police station (Jaisalmer) Kailash Chand said. He said many of the injured students were rushed to a hospital in Jaipur while some were admitted to a local medical facility. Chand further said that the parents of some other children took them to private hospitals. The ASI said the students were in the age group of 10-15 years. The bus driver was also injured in the accident, he added. Jodhpur Collector Himanshu Gupta said 11 schoolchildren were brought to Jodhpur for treatment from Jaisalmer and all were stated to be out of danger, but a staffer, identified as Vikram Singh, succumbed to injuries.

RTO drive finds 30% of over 14,000 buses flouting rules in Maharashtra

Nearly 30 per cent of more than 14,000 private buses checked by regional transport offices (RTOs) in Maharashtra during a special drive were found to be flouting rules, the transport department has said. According to a release by the department on Tuesday, RTOs checked 14,161 private buses as part of the special drive conducted between May 15 and June 30. Of these vehicles, 4,277, or nearly 30 per cent, were found to be violating rules and regulations and offences were registered against some of them, it said. The very next day after the drive ended on July 1 25 passengers travelling on a private sleeper coach were charred to death when the vehicle caught fire after hitting a road divider on the Samruddhi Expressway in Buldhana district. Of those buses caught flouting rules during the special drive, 1,702 were found violating norms about reflectors, indicators and tail lights, followed by 890 buses plying without permits or not following permit conditions. According to the relea