SETC to induct 515 buses by February

An official said, “A wide range of buses ranging from the air-conditioned to seater-cum-sleeper buses will be introduced under this initiative. This step replaces around 75 per cent of its ageing fleet with the new buses. The Institute of Road Transport (IRT) recently floated a tender to purchase 515 bus chassis. Each will cost Rs 23.17 lakh.” However, he ruled out the possibility of the new buses getting introduced before Pongal festival.

Sources said that IRT has changed the chassis specifications to improve life and standard. The chassis frame has been designed with an aim to have a minimum service life of ten years.

In a detail, the new mofussil buses with BS IV engines are expected to achieve 5.2 km per hour and in the hilly regions it will be 4 km per hour.

Currently, the SETC operates 1,157 buses from 22 depots under the category of ultra deluxe, air-conditioned and classic buses.

The state government announced during the financial budget that Rs 600 crore will be infused into the State Transport Undertakings (STUs) for inducting 3,000 new buses.

A senior official said, “Around 50 per cent of the buses will belong to the high-end range, while the rest would be in the ordinary category with air-suspension and pushback seats.”

Recently, the Corporation announced that pushback air-conditioned semi-sleeper buses will be introduced along the short distance routes within the range of 250 km from Chennai.

The total fleet capacity of the State Transport Corporation is 22,500 buses across the eight transport corporations, which caters to 1.9 crore passengers.