UPSRTC plans ‘rural metro bus service’
The corporation seeks financial assistance to purchase 2000 buses and manpower to connect remaining unserved 12,000 villages in the state. It also plans to start interdistrict AC bus service to connect state and national capitals
LUCKNOW: The UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has prepared a blueprint to provide transport connectivity to all the remaining unserved villages in the state by introducing what is named ‘rural metro bus service’ within the next year, officials dealing with the issue revealed.
There are reportedly more than 12,000 villages in the state that are not served by UPSRTC.
The corporation, the UPRTC further said, was also gearing up to start operating affordable inter-district air-conditioned (AC) buses linking all districts with Lucknow and Delhi in the next six months.
“The corporation has prepared an action plan to start rural metro bus service and operate inter-district economical (AC) buses within next one year in keeping with the BJP’s pre-poll promise in its Sankalp Patra (manifesto), the official said.
“However, the corporation has requested the government adequate financial assistance to buy new buses for this purpose,” he added.
As per the scheme, already presented to the government, the corporation will introduce a new fleet line named ‘rural metro service with 1500 buses and 500 new ordinary buses to provide transport connectivity to 12,204 unserved villages.
“The corporation has requested the government to provide a financial assistance of ₹650 crore to purchase more buses to serve all the remaining villages in the state with the corporation bearing the operating cost,” the official said.
The UPSRTC already provides connectivity to the state’s 97,814 populated villages, which are 88% of the total populated villages.
In the first phase, the UPSRTC will operate the rural metro service with 900 buses through separate bus depots in Bundelkhand and Purvanchal districts as well as districts under Saharanpur, Moradabad, Aligarh and Agra divisions. It will ply 600 buses in the second phase to cover the rest of the regions in the second phase.
The corporation has also proposed operating an interdistrict affordable AC bus service connecting all the districts to the national and the state capital.
These buses will be non-stop or will have minimum stoppages with the facility of advance reservation.
Apart from seeking financial assistance to purchase 2000 new buses, including 1500 for ‘rural metro service’, the corporation has also requested the government to provide concession in the payment of additional tax to make up for increasing diesel costs.
“Similarly, the corporation has requested the government to clear the pending proposal seeking permission for filling 73 vacant class-2 posts of assistant regional managers and 699 posts of bus conductors by recruiting deceased staff’s dependents on compensatory basis,” the official said.