Thane: Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde said the newly inducted AC double-decker electric bus will ply on the dense Teen Haath Naka to Gaimukh route making travel more comfortable and pleasant for commuters.Shinde was speaking after officially inducting the bus into the Thane Municipal transport fleet. The first of ten such buses arrived in Thane on Thursday and will undergo mandatory trials across city and suburban routes before being opened to commuters. Shinde completed a short test trip in the double-decker bus from the municipal corporation headquarters to Louiswadi and back on Friday along with mayor Sharmila Pimpalolkar, municipal commissioner Saurabh Rao, district collector Dr. Shrikrishna Panchal, and TMT manager Bhalchandra Behre among others.“The double-decker bus can seat 65 passengers at a time, while 33 passengers can travel standing,” Shinde said. Officials said the second bus is expected by the end of May, with the remaining fleet to be inducted by Oct. Each bus, costing around Rs 2 crore will be operated under a wet lease contract, where the contractor will handle bus procurement, fuel, maintenance and drivers. The transport undertaking will pay Rs 145 per km for operations. Fares are expected to range between Rs 10 and Rs 35, which is lesser than the BEST and at par with non-AC private buses plying the routes. Behere said the bus is awaiting mandatory transport department clearances, after which it will be inducted into service by next fortnight. Standing 4.5 metres tall, the buses will initially operate only on highways and after analysing feasibility, will be operated on other routes. Officials said the induction of the AC double-decker buses will cut commuter waiting time and curb traffic at Ghodbunder stretch.
