The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) released a tender notification for 1,035 hired buses.

The move comes days after the Chief Minister, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, announced plans to hire 3,100 buses and grant stage carriage permits to around 2,100 private buses.

The tender notification, which was issued on the TSRTC’s website on Tuesday night, mentions that contracts would be awarded on October 21.

While the tender rules prescribe that the applicant would have to produce the bus within 90 days, a corrigendum issued to the tender schedule states that those with ‘ready buses’ would be given preference. The specifications of such buses include a minimum seating capacity of 32, the year of manufacturing should at least be 2010 and a valid fitness certificate and comprehensive insurance. The Hyderabad and Secunderabad regions have 247 routes and the number of buses required here are 760.

In other regions such as Adilabad, the requirement is 18, whereas the requirement in Rangareddy region is 22. The largest number of buses are required in the Hyderabad and Secunderabad regions.

A transport expert, who did not wish to be identified, pointed out that the highest vehicle utilisation, meaning kilometres run per bus per day, which has been furnished along with the tender documents save a few routes, is below 200.

“The average vehicle utilisation for city routes is usually 220 and for Greater Hyderabad Zone, it is approximately 240. While 200 is also acceptable, 170 that has been mentioned is low. The kilometres scheduled per bus seems to be less. There should be strict monitoring of service-level agreements so that the buses are kept clean and drivers are trained,” the expert said.