CHENNAI: The State Express Transport Corporation (SETC), which serves long-distance routes running more than 300 km, received 150 new BS VI buses, purchased at a total cost of `90.52 crore, on Wednesday. The last time the transport corporation received new buses was in 2020. The buses were inaugurated by Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin in the presence of Transport Minister SS Sivasankar and senior officials of the department.
The 150 buses are part of a plan to replace 260 over-aged buses in the SETC fleet, which currently consist of 1,000 buses, including 68 spare ones. Buses are considered overaged if they have completed 12 lakh kilometres or have been in service for more than nine years.
“Out of the 932 buses currently in operation, 260 are scheduled to be replaced with new ones. We have received 150 buses now, and 50 more will be inducted next month. Additionally, 60 more buses will be added to SETC’s fleet in the coming months,” said a senior SETC official.
For the first time, SETC has introduced five sleeper berths in non-AC seater-cum-sleeper buses. The traditional seater-cum-sleeper buses have 30 seats on the lower deck and 15 berths on the upper deck. However, the newly-introduced buses will have 20 seats and 5 sleeper berths on the lower deck and 15 sleeper berths on the upper deck. “This is to accommodate elderly passengers and those with disabilities,” explained the official.
All 150 buses are non-AC seater-cum-sleeper buses. Of these, 50 will have five sleeper berths on the lower deck, while the remaining will follow the conventional seater-cum-sleeper design. These buses come with features such as charging points and fans for each berth.
According to official documents, the new buses will be introduced on routes from Chennai to Ooty, Bengaluru, Velankanni, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Tiruchy, Coimbatore, Dindigul, Madurai, Tirunelveli, and Nagercoil. Additional routes include Bengaluru to Rameswaram, Velankanni to Bengaluru, Kanyakumari to Tirupati, Marthandam to Bengaluru, and Vellore to Thiruvananthapuram.