The State has already received 35 buses under the JNNURM and all the buses will be used to boost the public transportation system in the urban area, officials of Transport department said here today.
According to the plan, town bus service will be reintroduced before Durga Puja, the biggest festival in the State to cater to the needs of urban commuters. In order to meet the deadline, the Transport department has already sought expression of interest to run the buses within the city area.
“The CNG fueled buses are expected to roll in the town area before the puja”, said an official of the Transport department. However, the government-run Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC) will not be entrusted with the task of running the town bus service.
“A society will be formed to run the bus service and the decision not to give the task to the TRTC has been taken to make it a viable venture”, he said.
Sensing the sharp increase in the CNG demand, Tripura Natural Gas Company Ltd (TNGCL) has also envisaged a five year plan to cater the need of environment friendly fuel.
The capacity of CNG mother station at Arundhutinagar in West Tripura district will be enhanced by installing one more compressor. Besides, another CNG mother station will be at Khayerpur in West Tripura district.
Two more CNG daughter stations will come up at Bishalgarh in West Tripura district and Udaipur in South Tripura district to cater to the need of CNG fueled light motor vehicles.
It may be noted that as many as 1,625 auto rickshaws and 95 light motor vehicles are running on CNG fuel in the State. The TNGCL expects the number of CNG fueled vehicles in the State to double within the next two years.