The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) will provide ₹286.50 crore to the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) for purchasing 360 new buses.
Of the new buses, 50 will be electric ones that will operate as Fast Passenger and the remaining 310 will be powered by CNG and will run as Super Fast.
The government accorded nod for the purchase of the new buses after the KIIFB board meeting under Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac had cleared the proposal, Minister for Transport A.K. Saseendran said on Thursday.
The 50 electric buses will cost ₹27.50 crore and the subsidy under FAME 2 will be used for the purchase. The remaining ₹259 crore will be made available by KIIFB as loan to the KSRTC at a nominal interest of 4%.
A green effort
Mr. Saseendran said the initiative was part of the government effort to make Thiruvananthapuram city green. The government’s aim was to ensure that only CNG, LNG and electric buses plied the roads of the State capital in another three years.
A CNG pump has been set up at the IOC depot at Anayara and oil majors are undertaking studies for opening CNG pumps in other districts. While the high speed diesel costs ₹71 a litre, the CNG costs ₹57.3 and LNG ₹44 a litre. A 30% shift in fuel will lead to huge savings for the KSRTC.
