MSRTC to convert 500 diesel buses to CNG
Out of 500 diesel-powered ST buses, 60 have already been converted to CNG and the remaining will be converted to CNG in a phased manner.
Moving towards a pollution-free bus fleet, the work of converting 500 diesel-powered state transport (ST) buses to CNG has begun in the Pune division of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC). Out of 500 diesel-powered ST buses, 60 have already been converted to CNG and the remaining will be converted to CNG in a phased manner.
Pune is an important division of MSRTC, and has a total of 14 depots. As there is a large number of people travelling to and from Pune for education, work and business, several long-distance ST buses travel to and from Pune. However, many of the buses in the MSRTC fleet are old. Hence, the corporation is now focusing on converting diesel-powered buses to CNG and getting new electric buses (e-buses) to reduce pollution. The Pune ST department has around 800 buses, 700 to 750 of which travel on the bus routes daily. Whereas 500 of these buses are old and therefore, MSRTC has decided to convert them to CNG. “The work of manufacturing CNG buses is going on in the workshop at Dapodi. Accordingly in the first phase, buses in the Shirur depot are being converted to CNG, and 60 buses have already been converted to CNG. After Shirur, buses in Rajguru Nagar depot will be converted to CNG. The cost of converting to CNG is approximately ₹12.5 lakh per bus. After the bus is completed, it has to be registered again with the regional transport department,” said Kailash Patil, MSRTC Pune divisional controller.
Meanwhile, steps are also being taken to increase the e-bus fleet. Presently, the Pune division has 64 e-buses which include 44 e-Shivneri and 20 e-Shivai. Another 60 CNG buses are plying on the roads. Like the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML), in future, the ST fleet will run on alternate fuel. The maximum number of buses running from Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad cities will be e-buses. In that regard, e-Shivai will join the MSRTC fleet.
