Mangalore, Udupi to get 65 low-floor buses

Bellevision Media Network

Mangalore, 16 Oct 2013: Coastal cities of Mangalore and Udupi are set to get 65 low-floor buses for city routes by April-May 2014. The ministry of urban development has sanctioned these non-AC buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) to the KSRTC’s Mangalore division.

 

 

Once permits are issued, 35 of the new buses will run in the city and 30 in Udupi. The buses with an 18-inch ground clearance will help the senior citizens to easily board the vehicle. According to guidelines, these buses must not ply more than 20km distance one way.

 

KSRTC Mangalore divisional controller M Mahesh told that he has constituted two teams to survey the routes where these buses could be deployed. Applications will be submitted to the Regional Transport Authority, seeking permission to operate the buses from the State Bank of India terminus and the main KSRTC bus stand at Bejai.

 

The Union ministry has sanctioned Rs 12 crore to the division to build bus depots in Mangalore and Udupi. The Kuntikana depot in Mangalore will be expanded to one and a half acres of land with concrete flooring, and the one in Udupi will be extended to a little more than two and a half acres. Work bids will be invited in November.

 

Rs 200 crore for Mangalore

The urban development ministry has promised Mangalore a sum of Rs 200 crore in two equal installments under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Urban development minister Kamal Nath reportedly assured road transport minister Oscar Fernandes at a meeting held in New Delhi in July, besides clearing the proposal of introducing low-floor buses in the coastal town.