Kochi: The Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC) is all set to cancel the order of 250 low-floor buses given to bus maker Áshok Leyland due to the delay in delivery.
With the passenger patronage of low-floor buses recording a rise, the KURTC management wants to roll out all the 400 low-floor buses allotted under the first lot by August 30.
“We’re yet to get 250 buses from the company. We’re thinking of cancelling the orders and give it to two other companies,” said KURTC managing director Antony Chacko.
The buses, especially the AC buses, were initially running with vacant seats. However, rescheduling of routes and deployment of buses based on the commuter demand saw the daily collections going up. The new buses also feature headrests and offer comfortable journey on inter-cluster routes.
The initial collection of Rs 20 lakh a day has more than doubled to 42 lakh on an average.
“We’re operating the buses to destinations such as Infopark and Technopark from adjacent satellite towns, those connecting tourist places and pilgrim centres besides the inter-town ones. For instance the services like Alappuzha-Infopark and the Ambalapuzha-Guruvayur trips are a hit,” a KURTC official said.
Meanwhile, 29 new buses, awaiting permits from the RTO, would be rolled out of the Thevara depot in a week. “So far we’ve got delivery of 110 buses, both AC and non-AC,” he said.
