Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) is set to induct 1,300 new buses into its fleet on January 1, 2025, with MSRTC Chairman Bharat Gogawale calling it a 'New Year's gift' to the people of Maharashtra.
"These New buses being inducted in the fleet are new year's gift for Maharashtra's common people availing services of Lal Pari," said Bharat Gogawale, state's minister and MSRTC chairman.
'Lal Pari's' is the alternate name given to the state transport buses.This move, as per the MSRTC Chairman, comes as part of ongoing efforts to expand and modernise the state's transport services to ensure safer and more comfortable travel for passengers.
"But it has not happened overnight but efforts were going on for this for the past 2 years. Soon we will increase our fleet size even more and we are committed to provide a comfortable and safe journey to everyone," said Gogawale.
Out of the 1,300 buses, around 450 will be dedicated to specific regions in the state, including Nashik-Sambhaji Nagar, Nagpur-Amravati, and the Mumbai-Pune area.
"Now the MSRTC has finally taken the important decision to include around 1300 buses in its fleet. Under which approximately 450 buses will be in service for each region including Nashik-Sambaji Nagar and Nagpur-Amravati apart from Mumbai-Pune area," read an official statement by MSRTC.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, MSRTC's fleet had about 18,500 buses, of which 15,500 were in service, catering to 65 lakh daily passengers. However, MSRTC had to reduce its fleet by about 1,000 buses due to their poor condition and the shortage of new buses, leaving only 14,500 buses in service. This resulted in a decrease in the number of daily passengers, down to 54 lakh.
"Due to the shortage of buses despite the demand, MSRTC had to bear the deficit for many years," read the statement.
With the induction of the new fleet, MSRTC expects to recover its losses and make a profit. "These new buses will come into service in the new year. With this, MSRTC is expected to make a profit by compensating for its losses," the MSRTC statement added.
"Due to which the poor people of the state using the "Lal Pari" (as ST buses are fondly called) services will not only be able to benefit from these services, but also have less burden on their pockets," the statement added. (ANI)