Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said here on Tuesday that the State would get 2,100 buses under the second phase of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Mysore city alone will get 125 buses, he said.
Mr. Reddy, who inaugurated the bus depot of the Mysore urban division of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) at Vijayanagar 4th stage here, said the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, took a decision a few days ago to provide 8,000 buses to cities covered under the JNNURM.
The Minister said a proposal had been submitted to the Centre seeking Rs. 200 crore for establishing more bus depots for improving intra-city operations and adding more buses to the existing fleet of the Mysore urban division.
Mr. Reddy said the Intelligent Transport System (ITS), which had been launched in Mysore sometime ago, would be introduced in Bangalore at a cost of Rs. 69 crore. Hubli and Dharwad cities will also get the ITS soon, he said.
He said the KSRTC has appointed 3,800 drivers, conductors, and technicians to improve the operations.
The Minister said the services of ‘Hop-on, Hop-off’ would continue even after the festival. On the occasion, 30 new buses attached to the newly-opened Vijayanagar bus depot were flagged off by Minister in-charge of Mysore district V. Sreenivas Prasad.
Mr. Prasad said 30 new buses are expected to improve services for people commuting daily from areas in and around Vijayanagar and nearby localities.
