Meals on the move to speed up bus commute in Maharashtra

Soon you can expect a relatively faster commute in Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation’s (MSRTC) AC luxury and semi-luxury buses across the state.

With plans to make refreshments available for its passengers onboard, long halts for food and beverages made mid-commute are expected to be cut down, thus saving crucial travel time.

The MSRTC has about 80 AC buses in its fleet presently. There are plans to add an additional 60 AC Volvos in the next six months. These buses will ply on the Dadar-Pune, Thane-Pune, Borivli-Pune, Kolhapur-Pune, Aurangabad-Pune, Nashik-Pune and Sangli-Pune routes. It is on these buses that the corporation plans to make available fruit juices, soft drinks, snacks and mineral water. An additional 1,000-odd “semi-luxury” buses that ply on several routes across the state, will also avail this service.

A spokesperson for the MSRTC said that the corporation is in talks with several private contractors who have shown interest. “Details are being worked out. Since it is the first time that such a facility will be introduced, the corporation wants to ensure that all concerns of space, passenger convenience are addressed,” the spokesperson said. It will be at least another two months before the tender gets awarded and the refreshments available.

The spokesperson did not specify if the food items will be prepared onboard or merely sold by a salesperson. “Those details are still being negotiated,” he said.

He also clarified that the buses will continue to halt for a brief while, so that the commuters can answer nature’s call.