Latest news with #GrossCostContract
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
BMTC launches electric ‘Vayu Vajra' fleet
BENGALURU: Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy flagged off 10 air-conditioned electric BMTC 'Vayu Vajra' buses for services to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Thursday, as part of its initiative to add 320 new electric buses under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model. Of these, 85 will serve the airport routes and 235 will be deployed for Vajra city services. The event was held at KIA Terminal 2. The new buses will operate on 11 airport routes, connecting key parts of the city to KIA. These include HAL Main Gate, Banashankari TTMC, Art of Living Ashram, Kadugodi Bus Station, HSR Layout, Kempegowda Bus Station, Mysore Road Bus Station, Royal Meenakshi Mall, and Whitefield TTMC, covering important transit points such as Jayanagar, Shantinagar, Whitefield, ITPL, Koramangala, MG Road, Shivajinagar, Mekhri Circle, Vijayanagar, Yeshwanthpur, and Budigere. The new 12-metre buses feature a 400-mm low floor, 283 kWh battery capacity, and can run up to 225 km a day. Each bus has a seating capacity of 35, with space for a wheelchair, high-back ergonomic seats, USB charging ports, vehicle tracking, CCTV cameras, panic buttons for women's safety, fire detection, and suppression systems, and accessibility features such as kneeling mechanisms and ramps. BMTC has installed nine chargers with a combined 240 kW capacity at KIA's P7 parking area as well.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Automotive
- The Hindu
BMTC introduces electric Vayu Vajra buses to Bengaluru airport
Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has launched 320 fully electric air-conditioned buses under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model, which will cater to commuters heading to the Kempegowda International Airport and other parts of the city. The new fleet includes 235 buses for Vajra city services, and 85 for Vayu Vajra airport services. In the first phase, 10 electric Vayu Vajra buses will be deployed from August 14, operating on 11 routes connecting different parts of Bengaluru to Kempegowda International Airport. On August 14, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy flagged off the airport electric buses at the Bengaluru airport. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy @RLR_BTM flagged off 10 new AC electric 'Vayu Vajra' buses to #Bengaluru Airport. Part of BMTC's 320-bus e-fleet plan, the zero-emission coaches feature CCTV, USB charging, wheelchair access & enhanced safety. @the_hindu@ — Darshan Devaiah B P (@DarshanDevaiahB) August 14, 2025 According to BMTC officials, these 12-metre, zero-emission buses are equipped with a 283 kWh battery, offering a range of up to 225 km per day. Passenger-friendly features include 35 high-back seats, wheelchair access, USB charging ports, CCTV cameras, panic buttons, kneeling mechanisms, and voice-enabled LED destination boards. 'Safety systems such as fire detection, rear camera reverse assist, and regenerative braking are also incorporated,' an official said. 'Currently, 156 Vayu Vajra schedules run 1,061 one-way trips daily, covering 50,776 km, and serving about 14,000 passengers. The addition of electric buses is expected to improve comfort, reduce emission, and enhance operational efficiency,' the official added. BMTC has established opportunity charging points at key locations, including Central Silk Board, Kadugodi Bus Stand, Depot-7, and KIA. At the airport, nine chargers with a total capacity of 240 kW have been installed at P7 parking, powered by a 1,400 KVA high-tension connection. 'The ₹1.5-crore infrastructure investment by BMTC was supported by the airport authority, which provided space free of cost,' the official explained. BMTC has an average daily ridership of 44 lakh across 6,217 buses, including 1,535 electric vehicles.
Time of India
09-08-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Bengaluru's electric buses: Rising accidents raise safety concerns amid outsourced drivers
Once seen as a green solution for the city, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) electric-buses are now earning a deadly reputation as accidents surge. The reason many is that many of these buses have untrained, outsourced drivers hired under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model. Electric buses were introduced by BMTC to offer a clean, green alternative to Bengaluru's chaotic traffic. But the deadly accidents they are involved in has put them under scrutiny. In the past 14 months alone, over 15 accidents involving e-buses have claimed 14 lives, turning what was meant to be an eco-friendly blessing into a growing public safety concern. Sources within BMTC and transport unions point to a root cause: Outsourcing of drivers under the GCC model, where private companies operating e-buses are allowed to appoint their own drivers. Most of these drivers, insiders say, lack sufficient experience—many are former truck drivers or newly licenced individuals, who are unfamiliar with handling large passenger vehicles in city traffic. Risky ride BMTC introduced electric buses under the Smart City, FAME-II, and FAME-III schemes. Currently, 1,469 e-buses operate under this system, generating a daily revenue of around ₹1.89 crore. However, these buses are not driven by BMTC's trained drivers. Instead, private operators deploy their own recruits, often offering lower wages and compromising on training standards. 'Many of the drivers appointed by the contractors are either driving buses for the first time or come from non-passenger driving backgrounds,' a senior BMTC official admitted. 'This lack of experience is evident in the rising number of mishaps.' BMTC insiders reveal that trip completion pressure is intense on these drivers. While regular BMTC buses have a route cancellation rate of less than 2 per cent, e-buses see up to 10 per cent cancellations, amounting to 2,000–3,000 km of lost trips per day. Battery issues and charging delays add to the chaos. What's worse, drivers face pay cuts if they return to the depot even five minutes late or early. This punitive policy, drivers say, forces them to drive fast and recklessly to meet unrealistic time targets, often endangering commuters. Helpline complaints against BMTC's e-bus drivers are on the rise, with passengers reporting issues like rash driving, skipping stops, phone use while driving, and misbehaviour. A senior official admitted that most recent complaints involve e-buses, indicating a deeper problem with driver conduct and safety standards. With accident numbers and passenger complaints rising, transport unions and citizen activists are now demanding that BMTC itself should appoint and train drivers for all e-buses, regardless of the GCC model. 'You can outsource buses, not safety,' a union leader said. As Bengaluru continues to expand its electric fleet, the question remains: At what cost is the city moving towards green mobility—especially when lives are at stake?
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Stakeholders want State as a unit, not district, for implementation of free bus ride for women in Andhra Pradesh
As the Government of Andhra Pradesh prepares to launch another Super Six scheme of free bus travel for women in the State on August 15, deliberations are in progress over the exact mode of implementation. While Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has indicated that the district will be considered as a unit for implementing the scheme, key stakeholders, including officials of the A.P. State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), have expressed concern over the feasibility of the model. According to sources in the Transport Department, implementation of the scheme at the district level may lead to operational difficulties, besides complications in route monitoring and enforcement of eligibility across inter-district services. A more unified State-wide implementation, the officials feel, will ensure smoother coordination and reduce the risk of misuse, or logistical bottlenecks. 'Restriction on travel within districts will lead to confusion for women who need to travel across district borders. A uniform policy at the State level will be more inclusive and manageable,' says a senior APSRTC official. 'A final call on the issue will be taken after the Chief Minister returns from Delhi,' says Transport Minister M. Ramprasad Reddy. Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Ramprasad Reddy said the government was in the process of procuring 2,000 new buses to augment the existing fleet and support the anticipated surge in passengers once the scheme was launched. 'While the buses may not arrive in time for the rollout, they will be inducted into the fleet in a phased manner,' the Minister said. Currently, women commuters comprise 35% of the Occupancy Ratio (OR) in the APSRTC buses as against 65% men. 'After rolling out the scheme, the number of women passengers may rise to 65% of the OR,' said the Minister. From a financial standpoint, the Minister said it would be an annual expenditure of ₹2,000 crore, which was significantly lower than other schemes under the government's Super Six promises. Mr. Ramprasad Reddy said the new buses would be operated under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model, a framework where private operators supply and maintain buses, while the APSRTC would manage operations and collect revenue. Union fears loss of jobs However, the GCC model is being opposed by the A.P. Public Transport Department Employees' Unions, whihc fear losing jobs in the future. They have been insisting that the APSRTC operate and maintain the new buses proposed to be included in the fleet. 'Already, 25% of the buses in the fleet are being operated by private firms. This is a growing concern among the workers in the public transport organisation,' said union State president P. Damodar Rao. He said the existing 11,500 buses in the fleet and 46,000 staff were needed to be augmented before the launch of the scheme. 'The corporation already relies on over 5,000 on-call drivers for its day-to-day operations,' he said, indicating the extent of staff crunch.
The Hindu
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Hindu
BMTC adds 148 new non-AC e-buses to its fleet
As many as 148 new non-AC electric buses (e-buses) added to the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation's (BMTC) fleet, as Minister for Transport Ramalinga Reddy flagged off ten buses to mark the induction of the new vehicles on Friday at the Shantinagar TTMC. The remaining buses will start operations in the next two days, a BMTC official told The Hindu. All buses are supplied by Tata Motors Ltd. (TML) Smart City Mobility Solutions Ltd., who will operate the buses under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model. The BMTC has struck a contract with the TML for 12 years at a rate of ₹41.01 a km for a bus, including electricity charges. 'The BMTC will provide conductors for the buses, and all other maintenance work will be taken up by the contracted company,' the BMTC official said, adding that all the buses are inducted at Jayanagar (depot 4). 'The operation of the e-buses is instrumental in preventing emissions of approximately 2.07 lakh kg of carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) into the atmosphere and contributes to saving nearly 77,000 litres of diesel daily, thereby bolstering the city's green transport initiatives,' the BMTC said in a release. With this, the total fleet of e-buses will go up to 1,584. Before the new additions, the BMTC operated 1,436 electric buses, of which 1,311 were non-AC buses. Of these, 1,221 are 12-meter e-buses and 90 are nine-meter e-buses. All AC e-buses plying in Bengaluru are 12-meter buses. The transport corporation is adding 195 AC e-buses in a phased manner, and it is expected to be completed by the end of the year. 'Under the PM e-Drive scheme, an additional 400 AC and 4,100 non-AC e-buses are slated for deployment, further accelerating Bengaluru's journey toward sustainable urban mobility,' the release added. Features of the new electric buses The total fleet of e-buses is 1584. • Zero-emission and environment-friendly operation. • 12-metre length, 400 mm floor height, non-AC electric buses . • Seating capacity of 35 passengers + 1 wheelchair space + driver. Kneeling mechanism and wheelchair ramp for easy boarding for senior citizens and differently-abled. • 3 cameras inside the saloon, 1 rear-view camera, and request stop buttons. • Battery capacity of 298 kWh with assured range of 200 km on a single charge, 4 LED destination boards with voice announcement systems, and 10 panic buttons. • FDAS (Fire Detection and Alarm System) and vehicle location tracking.
