Indore
After four years, Atal Indore City Transport Services Limited (AiCTSL) is once again starting the operation of buses from Indore to Mhow and Pithampur. These buses will start running on the roads from February-March.
The buses being re-started after four years might be CNG based.
AiCTSL had started operating inter-city buses about eight years back. The first outstation buses were started on the routes from Indore to Mhow and Pithampur. However, after some time due to many controversies, the operation of the buses was stopped in 2017.
After four years, now once again the management is preparing to start buses on these routes. Tenders have also been issued for this.
Three bus operators have submitted their proposals for running the buses on the routes. The finalisation of the operator and other details are still in process.
As per the plan, the whole process is expected to complete by late January. Hence, these buses will start operating between February and March.
//Four buses each will run on both the routes, AICTSL\\
CEO Sandeep Soni said, “Currently, we have finalised two routes.” He added that the first route will be Indore to Mhow and back.
The second route is Indore to Pithampur and back. “Four buses each will be started on both these routes. With the introduction of these buses, passengers travelling on these routes will be conveniently able to travel to these stations again,” Soni said.
//CNG buses under consideration\\
Diesel buses have been mentioned in the tender floated by AiCTSL. However, now, with the attempts to improve air quality and reduce pollution, CNG buses are being considered.
CNG buses can also be operated on this route. Since it is not a long-distance route it will not be difficult to operate CNG buses on these. It can be a better travel option with less cost and less pollution.The first 10 of 600 CNG buses have arrived in Indore recently and AiCTSL is testing them before introducing them into service in the city.
The buses are being brought under the Centre’s Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) mission.
AiCTSL officials shared that the buses would be introduced in a phased manner in the 19 routes while they also plan to increase buses on the existing 38 routes.
These new buses that have arrived are 32-seater mid-size models and run on compressed natural gas (CNG). All of them are equipped with CCTV surveillance cameras and have a GPS system.
//I-buses were also stopped\\
After shutting down the plying of sky buses between Indore and Mhow and Indore and Pithampur due to disputes the route with other operators, i-buses were started from Indore to Mhow in 2018. However, due to recurring disputes, this too was stopped.Now it will be a big challenge to run buses again on these routes.
