The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will launch 400 liquefied natural gas (LNG) buses in one year if the trial run of the LNG buses is a success, Transport Minister Antony Raju has said.
Flagging off the maiden service of the LNG-powered bus from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam at the KSRTC Central bus station at Thampanoor here on Monday, the Minister said the initiative was to switch over to green fuel to bring down the fleet’s operational costs and reduce pollution.
Along with the LNG buses, Mr. Raju said the KSRTC had worked out plans to convert another 3,000 buses into CNG in view of the rising price of high-speed diesel.
The daily services will be on the Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode-Ernakulam sectors. Two air-conditioned buses handed over by Petronet LNG Limited to the KSRTC are used for operating the services on a trial basis for three months.
Aid to bus operators
The Transport Minister said the government was ready to offer financial assistance to private bus operators if they came forward to shift to LNG. On the concerns about refuelling LNG, he said the Petronet had been asked to look into the possibility of setting up dispensing units at Aluva, Ettumanur, Pappanamcode and Vellarada on the KSRTC premises .
Financial discipline
Stating that financial discipline would have to be maintained in the KSRTC, Mr. Raju said the employees would be taken into confidence in the turnaround packages being implemented to take the transport utility out of the red.
KSRTC Chairman and Managing Director Biju Prabhakar and Petronet LNG Limited Vice President Yogananda Reddy signed a memorandum of understanding at the function.
KSRTC Executive Director, Operations, R. Chandramohan; Executive Director, South, G.S. Anil Kumar; and trade union leaders spoke.
