Karavali

Sigh of relief for elderly people with the introduction of low-floor buses in Mangalore

Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

lowfloor_buses_mangalore

Oct 11: The people, particularly the elderly, who have been complaining about the high foot board in the buses of Mangalore-Udupi, will have a sigh of relief  soon as some 65 low-floor buses are set to ply in Mangalore and Udupi

The Union Ministry of Urban Development has under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) sanctioned 65 buses and funds of Rs 12 crore to Mangalore division of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) for the construction of two bus depots in Mangalore and Udupi.

The Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee for sanctioning buses and ancillary infrastructure to all cities and towns which met in Delhi on September 17 under the chairmanship of Sudhir Krishna, Secretary, Union Ministry of Urban Development, took this decision.

M. Mahesh, Divisional Controller, Mangalore Division of KSRTC, said that of the buses sanctioned 35 would be for Mangalore and 30 for Udupi.

He said that the buses sanctioned were low-floor non air-conditioned ones. Their chassis length would be 12m and their floor would be 18 inches above the ground level. The KSRTC would have to select roads which were suited for low-floor buses.

Mr. Mahesh said that according to the guidelines those buses would have to be operated within 20-km distance (in one way from starting point to end point) every 15 minutes.

The Divisional Controller said that he had deputed two teams to survey roads for operating the buses. Permission of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) would be sought for operating the buses both from the State Bank of India bus terminal and KSRTC’s bus stand at Bejai.

Mr. Mahesh said that the KSRTC would invite bids soon for the supply of buses.

Depots

He said that the government had sanctioned Rs. 6 crore to each of the two depots proposed to accommodate the buses.

In Mangalore, the KSRTC depot in Kuntikana would be expanded to 1.5 acres and would be concreted. Bids for taking up the work would be invited next month. Mr. Mahesh said that the depot at Udupi would be expanded to 2.6 acres.

Connectivity boost

– Estimated cost of 65 buses is Rs. 18.85 crore

– Centre will share 80 per cent of the cost, State 20 per cent

– They will be green in color

– Each bus will indicate passengers the stop through LED display

– The coastal cities getting fund for the first time under JNNURM

– Mangalore, Udupi among 30 cities in State which get buses

Write A Comment