Maharashtra bus depots to offer lodging, boarding

The next time you get stranded in a rural area without any lodging or boarding arrangements, go to the nearest ST bus depot. The state government has given an in-principle nod to the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation’s ambitious plan to develop ST bus depots into economic hubs and exploit the land used for depots in the remote corners of the state.

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has asked the MSRTC to work out pilot projects for each one of the six categories of towns by November this year. The depots will be developed according to the economic and social set-ups of the village or town concerned. For instance, a big city like Pune would fall under a different category of development, as compared to a smaller town like Bhiwandi.

Chavan has asked the MSRTC to make use of green energy and ensure that the depots use solar energy and have rainwater harvesting facilities. The hubs should have comfortable retiring rooms and waiting rooms, he added.

“The idea is to provide passenger amenities of different kinds, depending on the density of passengers and the usage of the land. Various facilities like retiring rooms, food hubs and medical shops will be worked out. All this will be on a build-operate-transfer basis. We will soon be appointing consultants for the project. About 26 of the 574 bus depots have already begun work,” SK Sharma, principal secretary (transport) told DNA.
The MSRTC is in the process of finalising a consultant from the 14 companies that have been shortlisted.

The MSRTC has 574 bus depots and 3,635 bus shelters across the state. Some of the amenities that these depots will provide include fertilizer centres, cyber cafes, ATM centres, gift shops, book shops, etc.