THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: KSRTC Swift will operate 113 new electric bus services in the Thiruvananthapuram corporation limits as part of the Smart City project. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will hand over the first batch of 60 vehicles to Transport Minister Antony Raju at a function to be held at Model Boys Higher Secondary School ground on Saturday. The buses were bought for Rs 104 crore under the Smart City project. Raju said the routes for the new services would be decided by Saturday.
“We have sought a public opinion regarding the routes. More circular and point-to-point services are also on the cards,” he said. The rest of the 60 buses will be made available for service by September-October.
KSRTC Swift will also introduce two seater-cum-sleeper hybrid hi-tech buses on Saturday. The buses, one AC and the other non-AC will conduct services on the Thiruvananthapuram - Kasaragod route. Each bus has 15 berths and 27 seats.
“This is the first time KSRTC is purchasing hybrid buses. If the service is a success, we will purchase more such buses,” said Raju. The buses have been purchased using the deposit money from Swift staff. Local Self-Government Minister M B Rajesh said that electric buses will help make Thiruvananthapuram a green city.
“With the addition of 113 electric buses to the existing 50, KSRTC will have 163 electric buses conducting services in the city. It is part of the plan to replace diesel buses with green ones,” he said. Rajesh and Raju also jointly launched a mobile application called ‘Margadarshi’ which will help the public track the buses in real-time, find nearby bus stops, and plan trips.
The intelligent traffic management system can track 500 buses using the GPS facility. KSRTC will also launch a trial version of ‘My KSRTC’ for real-time travel information on city circular buses. The transport minister blamed the Union government’s withdrawal of the nod for bulk purchase for creating a crisis in KSRTC.