Due to the rising price of diesel, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has decided to install liquefied natural gas or LNG engine in its fleet.
Moreover, a proposal regarding the same has been sent to the state government as well for approval. In order to reduce the expenses spent on fuel, on an experimental basis, 3,000 buses will be converted to LNG. Post that, a decision will be made after considering the responses.
In recent developments, the state government has allocated INR 1,400 crores for the purchase of new vehicles. According to sources, using an LNG engine would approximately cost at least INR 1,50,000 per bus. At present, the MSRTC has 16,000 buses in its fleet, which run on diesel only.
On the other hand, Maharashtra transport minister Anil Parab had earlier sought funds to the tune of INR 600 crore in the state budget 2020-21 to procure 2,000 new buses for MSRTC. However, the state had allotted INR 110 crore, with which the corporation managed to purchase 700 buses, 500 ordinary ones and 200 'vithai' pilgrimage buses to Pandharpur.
The MSRTC is one of the biggest public transport undertakings in the country, with a fleet of at least 18,500 buses that ferry over 65 lakh passengers every day. However, currently, the number of ST passengers has been reduced to 50 per cent due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Last year till September, MSRTC was operating buses with 50 per cent capacity in view of the coronavirus pandemic. However, after witnessing a downward trend in the cases the state government allowed to run the buses with 100 per cent passenger-carrying capacity.
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