BENGALURU: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has come up with a plan to give a fresh lease of life to its old buses, which is expected to save the transport utility a whopping Rs 300 crore. As per the plan, 1,314 old buses, including 1,299 ordinary red buses, AC buses, and 15 Volvo Airavat buses, will be refurbished and operated for three to four years.
According to the RTO rules, buses that have covered 10 lakh km and are 15 years old are to be scrapped. But now the plan is to repair these same buses, which are 11-12 years old, and run them for a few more years.
The decision was taken in view of the financial constraints faced by the corporation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which made it difficult to purchase new buses. As per the plan, each red bus will be refurbished at a cost of Rs 3 lakh, while each Volvo Airavat bus will be refurbished at a cost of Rs 9 lakh.
The corporation has already obtained fitness certification from the Regional Transport Office (RTO) for these buses, which will now be back on the roads, providing services to the public. The move is expected to save the corporation a significant amount of money, which would have been spent on purchasing new buses.
As per estimates, the cost of purchasing a new ordinary bus is around Rs 43 lakh, while the cost of a new Volvo Airavat bus is around Rs 1.70 crore. By refurbishing the old buses, the corporation will be able to save around Rs 300 crore, which would have been spent on purchasing new buses.
