Mini-buses that would hit the city roads soon will also be operated on regular routes during non-peak hours.
Earlier, the authorities had decided to operate them only on designated routes — far-flung areas of the city and suburbs — as feeder services providing connectivity to bus stops and railway stations. With the new proposal, they would also be operated on regular routes, in addition to the designated routes for them, during lean hours, to give a breather to MTC buses.
“We are contemplating to operate mini-buses on the regular routes, as they would be an economically profitable option. Since MTC buses ply with fewer passengers, some almost empty on a few routes,
during the lean hours (11 am to 4 pm), it has been decided to operate the mini-buses on a few regular routes during non-peak hours,” sources in the government said.
“Earlier, it was decided to operate mini-buses only on routes that were studied by MTC. It has been decided to operate them on other routes, in addition to the chosen routes, during non-peak hours.”
They explained that the short wheelbase of mini-buses running to full capacity during lean hours would certainly be a viable option regarding fuel efficiency, compared to a larger, standard bus, which consumes more diesel running with fewer passengers.
The government is not keen to procure mini-buses from a particular company that supplies considerable number of standard buses to MTC.