In its drive to go hi-tech and face the stiff competition from private fleet operators in inter-state routes, the KSRTC director board has decided to purchase 10 A/C Volvo buses at a cost of nearly Rs 10 crore.
The KSRTC will place direct orders for the renowned Swedish-make multi-axle vehicles soon.
Incidentally, the decision came on the same day when a GPRS-enabled, GenNext Electronic Ticketing Machine (ETM) was introduced, through which any KSRTC schedule can be monitored.
An imported Volvo A/C bus costs Rs 90 lakh- Rs 1 crore and the entire investment of around Rs 10 crore will be made by the KSRTC itself.
Through the ‘economies of scale’ system, one spare bus will be maintained in the KSRTC stable, while nine will be put under operations in inter-state routes, KSRTC Chairman and Managing Director K G Mohanlal told Express.