BMTC woos private operators

BMTC woos private operators
Invites tenders to run low-floor A/C buses
Vijay Times

Bangalore: T outed to be the first of its kind, the Bangalore Metropolitan T ransport Corporation has invited tenders from private bus operators to run hi-tech A/C low-floor buses on a ’Public-Private-Partnership’ (PPP) with the state owned corporation.

While BMTC has already placed an order for 25 V olvos from the Sweden-headquartered company which is expected to deliver them in January 2006, tenders have been called for inviting bus operators on a PPP basis to operate buses akin to V olvos.

Explaining the pilot project, Upendra T ripathy , MD of BMTC says tender notification for hiring 25 private city buses with kneeling mechanism and auto transmission on Euro 3 norms will be called for from October 17. "W e plan to ply a total of 50 buses over a gradual period" T ripathy adds.

BMTC hopes to target senior citizens, women, the physically challenged, car and two-wheeler users as commuters for these buses in a bid to encourage the burgeoning middle class to switch over to public transport, thereby reducing congestion on roads. Also planned are novel schemes and promotional ads for commuters once these buses hit the roads, say BMTC authorities.

Private operator has to provide state of the art city buses delivering a minimum of 250 HP complying with Bharat Stage III norms.
Conductor to be booked from BMTC for revenue collection
The contract period will be of 7 year tenure extendable by another 3 years on mutually agreeable terms
Motor vehicle tax to be borne by BMTC
Fitment of Global Positioning System mandatory on these buses