PANAJI
Panaji’s dust-covered roads won’t see the introduction of colour-coded KTCL electric buses anytime soon, as the April 1 deadline ended on Monday. This means the authorities will announce a fresh implementation date, for the third time.
The delay also means the fleet of buses, purchased several months ago at a whopping cost, will continue to remain unused due to the unfinished Smart City works in Panaji.
Last month, the Transport Department notified seven colours for the buses to operate on different routes in and around Panaji starting April 1. This deadline was announced after the authorities failed to meet it in January for the same reasons.
The notification stated that the proposed service will involve operating stage carriages via buses and minibuses and featuring various types of stage carriers such as luxury and semi-luxury options (including electric vehicles), as well as electric buggies for non-motorized roads. These services will have limited stops or offer direct routes from one stop to another.
A maximum fleet size of 60 vehicles operating at one time under the scheme with a minimum of 44 vehicles and at least 500 daily trips was announced. The bus service under the ‘Smart City Mission’ comprises new large electric buses (49 seaters), diesel-powered mini buses (30 seaters), electrical mini buses (26 seaters), electrical micro buses (14 seaters) and electric buggies (11 seaters).
Along with this, the 161 bus stops proposed under IPSCDL’s Smart City Mission EV Bus Services and notified by the North Goa District Magistrate are also yet to see the light of day.
The Goan tried reaching out to the IPSCDL CEO Sanjith Rodrigues and KTCL officials including the Chairman and the Managing Director, all of whom were unavailable for comment.
