Lockdown curbs and the cascading effect on transport of goods has prompted the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to step in and expand its role. On Friday, it started transporting goods across the State with the first of its trucks reaching Mumbai from Ratnagiri with a consignment of 150 boxes of Alphonso mangoes.
In addition to its bus fleet, MSRTC has 300 trucks, which will be used for this purpose. MSRTC will now allow bookings for goods transport at all its 250 bus depots across the State. “If the demand picks up and we need more vehicles, we may modify and use our old buses,” MSRTC spokesperson Abhijit Bhosale told The Hindu.
The maximum permissible weight allowed is nine metric tonnes and goods such as agricultural products or medical equipment can also be transported. The MSRTC management took this decision as transportation of goods has been hit since the lockdown.
A separate cell at MSRTC headquarters will monitor and control the movement of goods and a coordinating officer has been appointed in each divisional office at each district.
On Friday, the MSRTC also started intra-State passenger services and ferried 11,151 passengers in 2,007 trips on 457 selected routes. Buses were run in 31 divisions, but excluded districts under the red zone.
