Thane Municipal Transport plans 100 midi AC buses in Thane

THANE: The

Thane Municipal Transport

(

TMT

) has plans to introduce nearly 100 midi

air conditioned

(AC) buses to compete with share autos and radio cabs running on shuttle routes within Thane city limits.

Presently, the fleet of

AC buses

operate only on Mumbai routes.

Plans are afoot to deploy the 100 ethanol-powered buses that will arrive in the fleet through a wet lease by April on various routes now connected with share autos. The

midi buses

will accommodate 42 plus 10 passengers equal to the capacity of around 16 autos.

The TMT is working towards attracting intra-city passengers or station-bound ones who often rely on share autos or fleet cabs.

“The idea is to reduce traffic on city streets by drawing majority of these passengers to the AC buses. Until now the efficiency of TMT services was not up to the mark due to lack of buses, but now we have a strong fleet and are confident of improving services within the city. We want the buses to operate on city roads and attract commuters using fleet cabs, autos or their own vehicles, said Anil Bhor, chairman of the transport committee.

Bhor added that the administration will simultaneously work out a feasible fare structure that will make it competitive for other services, including the share autos that are popular on these routes. The fares will be finalised by the committee and following approval by the general body would be sent to the regional transport authority for its okay, said officials.

Some of the routes being planned for operating these services are Thane railway station to Vartak Nagar, Vasant Vihar, Vrindavan and Teen Haath Naka to residential pockets along the Ghodbunder Road among others.

As per the contract, the agency contractor will procure the buses and also ensure its daily refueling, deploy staff and maintain the buses. A part of the profit from the ticket sales is proposed to go to the TMT administration, said a TMT official.

Meanwhile, activists have suggested the administration first provide adequate infrastructure like fuel stations for such initiatives.