Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday inaugurated the handing over of 60 new electric buses launched by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) SWIFT, the new legal entity formed under the corporation for centralised operation of long-distance buses and electric buses under Thiruvananthapuram Corporation’s Smart City project. Transport Minister Antony Raju Received the buses from the Chief Minister.
The first batch of 60 vehicles purchased at a cost of ₹104 crore is part of a fleet of 113 new electric buses which will be added to the e-bus fleet currently running within the city. The remaining buses are expected to be made available for service by the September-October period. At the function held in the city Finance Minister K.N.Balagopal, Minister for Local Self Governments M.B.Rajesh, General Education Minister V.Sivankutty, Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R.Anil, Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran and others were present.
The routes for the new buses were also finalised following consultations with KSRTC officials and after taking an opinion survey from the general public. Changes to the routes, if needed, will be made after a trial run of three months. Eight circular services and 17 point-to-point services will be run in the first phase. The fair stage for the point-to-point services will be fixed only after three months, until which the passengers can travel at ₹10.
Considering the Onam rush, the services will run till midnight till September 3. The introduction of 113 electric buses will take the total number of electric buses to be operated in the city to 163 as the KSRTC has already pressed into service 50 electric buses on various routes. With the introduction of new electric buses, the low-floor buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) will be shifted to rural units in the district.
The ‘Margadarshi’ app will help the public to track the buses in real-time, find nearby bus stops, and plan trips.
