THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After successfully adding electric buses to its fleet, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is planning to introduce two electric double-decker buses on the roads of Thiruvananthapuram.
The project, a first for Kerala, aims to woo passengers towards public transportation and reduce the density of private vehicles on the road. The project is funded by Smart City Thiruvananthapuram. Each double-decker is estimated to cost around Rs 1.10 crore.
Sources said the buses will be added to the city circular services and start rolling in the city in January. At present, KSRTC is operating around 110 electric buses under the city circular service. The authorities plan to add 50 more e-buses and two e-double deckers to the fleet in one or two months.
“We want to attract more commuters to public transportation. This is a pilot project. After considering the feedback here, KSRTC is planning to introduce double-decker services in Kozhikode City too,” said a top official of KSRTC.
“The double-deckers will add colour to public transportation and we hope they will help attract more riders,” said the official.
As per KSRTC officials, electric double-deckers are being operated successfully in Mumbai. “The response to city circular buses has been immense. Before introducing e-buses, we had a daily ridership of around 50,000 people. This has now risen to 70,000 per day. Our target is 1 lakh riders,” said the official. Of the 50 new buses, four will be delivered next week and the rest will be received within a month, said the official.
Meanwhile, KSRTC is planning to introduce electric buses in Ernakulam city too. “We have plans to run 30 electric buses in Ernakulam,” said the official.
Plans are also on to introduce hi-tech services for riders. For this, KSRTC has tied up with the ‘Chalo App’ to ensure hassle-free booking and tracking of its buses. “If everything goes as planned, we will launch an automated ticketing system by January and introduce a mobile app that would let commuters track buses in real time,” said the official. Chalo App is being successfully used in several other states.