The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation will begin reintroducing more air-conditioned buses this month. The BMTC, which had recently slashed the fares for Vajra service fares to increase ridership, plans to run 300 AC buses.
On Saturday, it announced that AC services will be reintroduced on routes such as S.V. Road Metro Station to Central Silk Board, Majestic to Janapriya Township and Majestic to Whitefield among others.
According to an official, an additional 50 air-conditioned buses will be operated from Monday (January 3). “We are hoping that more people will start using AC buses in the coming days as we have made fares affordable. We will reintroduce services depending on demand,” the official said.
The BMTC has a fleet of 860 AC buses, but since the pandemic in 2020, most of the vehicles have remained off the road. In mid-December last year, the corporation slashed ticket prices by 34% and reduced the daily and monthly pass pass rates by ₹20 and ₹500 respectively.
“However, utilisation of the entire fleet will take time. It will happen only when the companies start asking employees to work from the office,” said a BMTC official.
40 buses to be scrapped
The BMTC has identified 30-40 AC buses for scrapping as they are not fit to run. Usually, buses are scrapped after they are operated for 10-12 lakh km or have been in use for over 12 years. The official said that the buses identified for scrapping had been inducted in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
It had initially planned to convert some of its AC buses to non-AC, but the plan was dropped after officials found out that it was not a feasible option. The corporation has already started inducting BS-VI and electric buses to replace the old vehicles.