For the first time since its inception in 1997, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will buy 50 used buses from Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to overcome shortage in its fleet.
This shift to reverse gear follows its failure to procure even a single new bus in the past two years as vendors have failed to deliver new vehicles with Euro IV compliant engines.
Prior to the breakup of KSRTC into four road transport corporations (RTCs), buses that had clocked about 5 lakh km were given to the erstwhile Bangalore Transport Service (BTS).
Upgrade
BMTC later kept upgrading its fleet by inducting new buses and scrapping junk vehicles to provide better service. The corporation is also known to operate the “youngest” fleet among urban RTCs in the country.
No delivery
BMTC was expecting to get new chassis as well as fully built buses, totalling 600, from July this year.
However, Tata Motors, which bagged the contract to supply the chassis and buses, is yet to deliver, BMTC sources told The Hindu .
This has now forced BMTC to consider procuring KSRTC buses that have clocked 5 lakh km, and to operate them on the city's outskirts. KSRTC officials confirmed that discussions were on to sell about 50 buses from the Mysore Division to BMTC.
‘It won't happen'
Meanwhile, BMTC Managing Director K.R. Srinivasa denied any such plan. “Even if there was any move in BMTC, I won't allow it to happen,” he said and added that new buses were in the pipeline. Another senior functionary said that by November, all new buses should be with BMTC.
