VIJAYAWADA: Over 1,000 buses, 200 of which belong to the APSRTC, will be scrapped in Krishna district as part of the Centre’s proposed vehicle scrappage policy. The move aims to keep pollution levels down, according to transport officials.In all, the RTC has a fleet of over 1,500 buses in the district, out of which 200 have been in operation for almost twenty years. When it comes to private vehicles, the district has over 4,000 buses owned by private educational institutions buses, out of which 800 need to be discarded.
A senior RTC official said about 13 per cent of the buses in the district are old, and a majority of them are being operated as Palle Velugu and city services. As per the guidelines formulated by the road transport corporation, engines that have run over 11,000 km need to be changed. Already reeling under deep financial crisis and amidst the spiralling fuel prices, the corporation has a herculean task ahead, i.e. to replace the old engines.
“As of now, the RTC’s policy is still in its initial stages. A detailed study will be conducted by the engineering and mechanical wings, after which the authority may decide on implementing the vehicle scrapping policy for the public buses,” he said.Deputy Transport Commissioner M Purendra said as per the Centre’s policy not only public transport buses, but also private vehicles that have been in operation for more than twenty years need to be scrapped.
Once the policy comes into implementation, registration of old vehicles caught during the checks by the department will not be renewed. “Vehicle users should provide personal details such as PAN card and other documents to the department before handing their vehicles over to the scrapping facility. The consumers will get a 15 per cent exemption on vehicle prices and registration fee if they provide the ‘vehicle scrap’ certificate to the dealer while buying a new one,” the official added.