Mumbai : The state will soon see the fleet of 500 new luxury buses on roads as the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) is all to start the new brand ‘ShivShahi’ buses.
The air-conditioned buses will have the latest amenities like Wi-Fi and personal TV screen and will start plying from April 10 connecting Mumbai to various major cities in the state. The ShivShahi scheme has 200 sleeper coaches and the rest are regular seater with cheaper rates than Shivneri, which is also run by the MSRTC. The ShivShahi bus scheme is expected to have more business due to its cheaper rates, said a senior MSRTC officer.
The ShivShahi buses are hired from leading private transporters for which work order was passed on Januray 22. The luxury buses will ply across the state with Marathwada and Vidharbha on a priority basis. The ShivSahi services will come on road in a phased manner, and the first phase of 70 buses will be allotted to Marathwada. “Currently, there are many people travelling Mumbai from Marathwada. Hence, we decided to allot the first phase of the buses on Mumbai-Marathwada route”, informed a senior MSRTC official on condition of anonymity.
The ShivShahi luxury buses have the latest amenities like Wi-Fi, personal TV screen for every seat, mobile and laptop charger points and CCTV. The most awaited sleeper coaches are added by the MSRTC in this fleet. The sleeper coaches have capacity of 30 berths while the chair car buses will be 45-seater luxury vehicles.
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— By | Mar 10, 2016 02:34 am
Mumbai: While the MSRTC has procured 500 new luxury buses with brand ‘ShivShahi’, the corporation
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The ticket rates of ShivShahi will be cheaper than Shivneri. “Although exact rates are not yet fixed, but all the rates will be competitive to the private vehicles. The rates will be decided as per the season, which is just like the private vehicles which depend on the time of the year”, the MSRTC official said. “We want to attract more and more commuters across the state. The ShivShahi buses are for common people. People from the rural areas travel to Mumbai, they can afford the rates of ShivShahi,” the official added.
He also added, “The ShivShahi buses may not be as comfortable like Volvo buses and not as high-tech as Shivneri since we are looking at common man’s affordability. The Shivneri has an engine capacity of 290 HP and can go up to 100kilometres per hour, while the new buses have an engine capacity of 225 HP and will have speed limit of 80 kmph.”
The ShivShahi buses will ply on routes such as Mumbai-Nagpur, Mumbai-Yawatmal, Mumbai-Nanded, Mumbai-Parbhani, Mumbai-Beed, Mumbai-Jalna, Mumbai-Ahmednagar and many other cities. Considering the response they get, the MSRTC will then increase the frequencies on the routes. A regular commuter to Ahmednagar, Ajay Shete, a resident of Chembur, said, “We are very excited with the new buses. The amenities are good like air-conditioning, Wi-Fi and TV screen and further the rates are cheaper compared with Shivneri buses.”
