In the near future you will be able to book a seat on any Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus from private websites. The corporation also has plans to instal Global Positioning System (GPS) in all buses.
Another project in the pipeline is replacing the fleet of aging AC buses. "In all, 60 new AC buses will be inducted into the MSRTC fleet. Of these, 25 will be bought and the remaining hired. A total of 21 existing AC buses will be decommissioned," said Sanjay Khandare, vice-chairman and managing director, MSRTC.
He added that work was on to provide MSRTC bus tickets on private websites that currently cater only to private bus operators. This would ensure that private operators face competition. This will also increase ridership on state-run buses. Currently, tickets for all types of MSRTC buses are available at bus depots, MSRTC website and with authorised agents.
In order to track the movement of its 18,000-odd buses, the corporation is planning to instal GPS in each of them. But completing this project would take time due to the large fleet of MSRTC buses.
A proposal has been forwarded to the state government to buy 700 buses; these buses will form a new segment. They will be semi-luxury buses with push-back seats; the current semi-luxury buses do not have push-back seats. Presently, MSRTC has Ashwamed (multi-axle AC), Shivneri (AC), Sheetal (semi-luxury AC) Hirkani (non-AC) and Yashwanti (mini-bus).
Also, the new buses entering the fleet will have a new bus code, AIS:052. Back in February 2011, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway, had issued a notification making it mandatory to adhere to AIS:052 safety norms for bus-body building. Hence, there will be changes in the interiors of the buses, including that of the driver's cabin.
CSIA-Pune AC bus
Possibly, by early next year, MSRTC will start AC bus service from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport to Pune. There are also plans afoot to ply buses between Borivli and Shirdi, and Borivli and Nashik.
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