The Thane Municipal Corporation's (TMC) transport body has procured 123 eco-friendly electric buses and now plans to procure 42 additional buses under the Central Government's 'National Clean Air Initiative'.
However, only 13 have been made available so far and the Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) has penalized the contractor for delay in delivery.
Meanwhile, the new buses will enter the fleet of TMT in the next six months as the administration floats tenders for this work. Out of 364 buses in TMC's fleet, 124 are owned by TMC, while the rest are operated on total cost contract (GCC).
TMT president Vilas Joshi said, “The population of Thane has crossed 2.5 lakhs. As a result, the number of buses cannot keep up with the number of passengers. Therefore, TMC and transport administration have emphasized on increasing the number of buses in the last few years."
On the issue of delay in delivery, Joshi said that the administration insists that the contractor should provide the rest of the buses in July or August.
“The new buses have been procured from another contractor so that they are available for use by passengers at the earliest,” he said.
The buses will be procured from the National Clean Air Initiative Fund.
TMC public relations officer Ravindra Manjrekar said TMT has received INR 15.50 crore this year under the National Clean Air Initiative and tenders have been issued to purchase additional e-buses from this fund.
He added, “These buses will be procured on GCC basis. The deadline for submission of tenders is July 18, after which they will be opened and the contractor selected. While 17 buses will be of 12 meter length, 25 buses will be of 9 meter length.”
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