KOCHI: The AC low-floor buses provided by the Centre for free under the JNNURM scheme had become a burden on the state, Transport Minister Antony Raju said on Friday. He was inaugurating Vahaneeyam, a complaint redressal adalat, at Town Hall here.
“Operating cost of the AC low-floor buses provided under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is high. They provide a mileage of 2km per litre, while other buses have a mileage of 5km per litre,” he said.
“The AC low-floor service took a hit when Covid engulfed the nation. Several buses had to undergo repair before we could resume the service after a long time. And though we did, a large number of people showed reluctance to use it as they were afraid that AC buses will lead to spread of the virus,” Raju said.He said the department was planning to convert several such buses into bypass rides. “A discussion in this regard has already started. The buses whose maintenance work is over will be converted into bypass rides,” said Raju.
FASTER SERVICE BY MVD: MIN
Minister Antony Raju said steps will be taken to ensure speedy disposal of applications received by the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD). “Officials have been asked to speed things up. A monitoring system will be set up to review the applications,” he said.