Running Time Of Buses Will Be Revised - By K.N.Nehru

Transport Minister K.N. Nehru (second left) at a function held to launch 100 new buses in the city on Monday. The demand for bus services were on the rise in the State with the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation serving 30 per cent of the State population on an average everyday, Transport Minister, K.N. Nehru said on Monday.

He was speaking at a function organised to flag off 100 new buses of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), Coimbatore, including the 78 new buses which replaced the existing ones , seven semi-low-floor buses, five vestibule buses and 10 express town buses. The Minister also inaugurated the Regional Transport Office (Central) carving out the jurisdictions of the existing Coimbatore South and North RTOs.

Mr. Nehru said when the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) came to power, the number of buses with TNSTC was 18,000 and in Chennai city alone it was 2,200. In the last two years, the Government has increased the number of buses to more than 20,000 and in Chennai city alone 2,966 buses operated everyday. As against the 30 lakh passengers a day two years ago, buses in Chennai city had 45 lakh passengers now and the number of passengers using the public transportation system in Tamil Nadu had increased from 1.64 crore to 1.95 per crore per day in the last two years.

Two years earlier, a distance of 64 lakh km was covered by buses which had now gone up to 80 lakh km per day. The loss for TNSTC every day was estimated to be Rs. 42 lakh. Despite the losses, the number of buses and services were being increased and new buses were being introduced, he added. In spite of the spiralling price of diesel, the Chief Minister had warned against any increase in the bus fare. Compared to neighbouring states, bus fare in Tamil Nadu, which was only 28 paise per km, was the lowest, he said.

One thousand new employees joined the Transport Department to cope with the increasing work load. The Government had opened 30 new offices and 35,000 drivers and conductors were hired in the last two years. Also, postings were given to 1,000 legal heirs on compassionate grounds. To reduce instances of mistakes by drivers causing accidents, Rs. 4 crore drivers’ training academy was coming up at Chrompet near Chennai and every driver would have to go through a refresher course once in three years, he said. The number of vehicles in Tamil Nadu was next only to Maharastra. Tamil Nadu had 1.06 crore vehicles and close to 3,000 to 5,000 vehicles were registered daily.

Mr. Nehru said that the grievances of the employees and the demands of trade unions were being resolved on a priority basis and said that a meeting of the trade union leaders would be shortly held in Chennai. Mr. Nehru said 300 accident prone spots had been identified. Through special funding and under the Anna Renaissance Scheme remedial measures were being initiated. Mr. Nehru said that in the next two years even the remaining buses that had served their average life span would be replaced.

To a plea from the mini-bus operators, Mr. Nehru said that originally the Government had planned 7,500 mini bus permits and only 3,900 permits had been given. Because of court litigations, the Government could not take any major decisions. There was a contentious issue over the number of km of served and un-served sector routes. Now, 232 new routes had identified by district collectors and the process of issuing permits would begin soon, he said. Efforts would be made to achieve the desired target of 250 mini-bus permits for every district.

Related Posts by Categories

Infra

• ‘Medical Transcription Outsourcing Capital !
• Create infrastructure before Tamil meet: RAAC
• Modernisation of non-metro airports in 2 yrs
• Multi-storeyed buildings zones in other cities to be studied
• BSNL launches EVDO Data cards
• Provogue ventures into real estate !
• ICCI Protested The Powercut
• Smart Rooms 2009 Exhibition
• Flowserve to expand Coimbatore operations
• KGISL to invest 600 Cr in SEZ !
• Govt keen to develop Tier II cities
• Coimbatore – An Emerging Real Estate Destination
• Pilloor II Water Supply Scheme Likely By Mid 2010
• Focus Will Be On Road Repairs - Corp
• Residents protest against ST Plant !
• The needs of KOVAI !!
• Construction industry seeks speedy approval mechanism
• Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangham - No for Byepass !
• RAAC comes with " Vision Kovai Mission 10"
• ITC - Fortune park to set up Hotel @ Coimbatore !
• Coimbatore industy to set up 1000 MW Power plant !
• IT sector will Boost in 2 yrs ..
• Potholes on roads - Be safe !!
• Bosch to invest Rs 250 crore !!
• Civil engineers role - Expanding ..