JNNURM buses promise comfort

JNNURM buses promise comfort
One-Time Grant For 1,000 Vehicles | 140 Air-Conditioned Buses Already Plying
Deepa Bhasthi | TNN

Bangalore: Just when you thought there were no more roads for more buses in the city, JNNURM has announced a one-time grant for 1,000 new buses for Bangalore. And, they have been subtly making their entry in phases.
The formal programme to release these blue-coloured buses was put on hold. But as one cannot keep such assets waiting for long, given audit requirements, currently, 140 air-conditioned buses are plying in the city.
As for the rest, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is going into very minute specifications. A BMTC official said that there would be 200 A-C Volvo buses with a floor height of 400 mm, 702 buses of 900 mm and 98 buses of 650 mm.
WHY IS FLOOR HEIGHT IMPORTANT?
“The lower floor heights are helpful for old people and children,” explained the official. The height of buses is a common problem faced by several passengers; regular BMTC buses are at a height of 1000 mm.
The BMTC is fixing several addons to the new buses — vinyl mats, plastic moulded seats, etc. The 1000 buses were all to be hit the roads over a couple of months ago. But the deadline has been pushed to end-2009 due to manufacturers’ delay in supply.
The corporation, apart from sending buses to other sister corporations, has a target of scrapping at least 400 buses every year.
This, it says, will pave the way for new buses to come in without causing too much burden on the roads.
BMTC sources reveal that, like in other handouts, the state didn’t get the cream of JN-NURM’s funds. While the central scheme gives support usually to infrastructure development projects, this one-time support to buy buses and ease traffic congestion was also given to several other urban areas.
Karnataka was given Rs 323.82 crore, 50% of which is to funded by urban local bodies, 35% by the central government and 15% by the state government. Despite stray misgivings about the quantum of funds, the varied colour-schemed buses are quietly replacing the familiar blue-and-white ones in the city.
BMTC FLEET
Total — 5,400 Pushpaks, mini buses, others — 4,820 (approx) Suvarna — 300 (approx) Vajra buses — 280