BENGALURU: In another six months, the city will get 643 new Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses, consisting of Bharat Stage-6 diesel and electric vehicles, some of which will also act as feeder buses for Namma Metro.
On Saturday, BMTC Managing Director Anbu Kumar V inspected the first prototype of a BS-6 bus and said it met the requirements. “We will get 565 BS-6 buses. The first prototype was inspected and after the final technical approval, the buses will be delivered in three months,” he added.
BMTC will also get 90 electric buses from JBM and 300 more electric buses from Ashok Leyland in six months. Most of them will be feeder services for Metro. As the news of a survey of prototypes spread, Bengalureans took to social media expressing their pleasure over the induction of new buses. They wanted more electric buses instead of BS-6 as it will help expand and add more charging stations.
BMTC is working on scrapping old buses in a phased manner so that there is no shortage of vehicles. In the first stage, 100 buses will be scrapped. Government order specifies that scrapped buses be auctioned and companies procure parts that can be utilised in new buses. BMTC now has 6,484 buses, of which 5,141 are operational on a daily basis.