UPSRTC to operate 57 AC sleeper buses

LUCKNOW: The UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has floated a new scheme for operating air-conditioned sleeper coach buses on various routes, including Lucknow-Delhi, by entering into a contract with private operators.

The corporation has, in the first phase, identified over 27 different intra-state as well as inter-state routes for plying 57 such buses on a pilot basis. The UPSRTC does not operate any sleeper coach at present.

“On the basis of the feedback received from various sources, including passengers, the corporation has decided to ply contractual sleeper coach buses in an arrangement under which private operators will provide and operate such buses,” a UPSRTC spokesman said. As per the bids invited by the UPSRTC, private operators are to submit their applications for signing a contract by September 12. Operators selected under the scheme will be contract-bound to make available all the facilities, like the AC cooling, berths, luggage carriers, music system etc as specified in the bid documents. The 27 routes identified for the operation in the first phase include Delhi-Lucknow, Lucknow-Agra-Jaipur, Saharanpur-Bijnor-Moradabad-Lucknow, Lucknow-Gurgaon, Kanpur-Delhi, Gorakhpur-Lucknow-Delhi, Rupaidiha (near Indo-Nepal border)-Delhi, Shaktinagar-Allahabad-Lucknow, Delhi-Gorakhpur-Patna, Balia-Lucknow and Chhatarpur-Jhansi-Delhi. Private operators are already operating more than 10,000 ordinary buses as well as high-end Volvo and Scania buses under a contract with the UPSRTC on a number of routes in the state. “In AC sleeper coach buses, the passengers will have to pay ₹50 extra per bedroll in addition to the normal fare,” the spokesman said. He said the corporation might extend its sleeper coach service to other routes inducting more such buses into the fleet depending on the response to the service in the first phase.