Decks are getting cleared for the cash-strapped Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to use environment-friendly gas to power its buses and to bring down the fuel bill of its 6,000-odd fleet.
The State transport utility is planning to set up a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) dispensing unit of the Indian Oil Corporation at its depot at Anayara in the capital. All mandatory clearances, except one, have been obtained for opening the dispensing unit.
A CNG-powered bus purchased by the KSRTC for demonstration is idling in a depot in the capital owing to the lack of a dispensing unit. Discussions are also on with the oil major to make available the environmental-friendly gas at the KSRTC’s workshop at Aluva and depot in Thevara.
The utility has floated tenders for setting up nine retail outlets of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and CNG on its premises across the State, official sources told The Hindu . The last date of submitting the bids has been extended to September 15 on the request of stakeholders and public sector oil companies.
Two options
With the constraints in CNG availability set to ease in the coming months, the question is whether the financially stressed KSRTC has the resources to convert all its buses into CNG at one stretch. To convert a bus to CNG, the cost expected is ₹4 lakh. The switchover will be economically viable only if buses that are less than three years old are converted. Only after a proper demonstration can it be assessed whether the CNG-powered buses are suitable for the State’s undulating terrain.
The other option before the KSRTC is to go for new CNG-powered buses when it purchases 900 buses using the funds of Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). This will help avoid conversion into CNG after the buses join the fleet. The management of the KSRTC will have to take a call on this soon.
