Chandigarh Transport Undertaking expands service on interstate routes

Chandigarh, May 4

To strengthen the fleet of the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) on interstate routes, UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit flagged off 20 HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning) buses today.

Now, the CTU fleet on the interstate routes has reached 178 buses (119 HVAC and 59 non-AC) with increased daily operations of nearly 64,000 km, said Pradhuman Singh, Director Transport, UT.

“So far, the CTU has a fleet strength of 330 buses. Of these, 158 buses (99 HVAC buses and 59 ordinary buses) operating on various interstate routes connecting Khattu Shyam Ji, Salasar Ji, Tanakpur, Haldwani, Amritsar, Haridwar, Shimla, Manali, Delhi, Rewari, Narnaul, Rohtak, Hisar, Dehradun, Katra, Jaipur etc, covering approximately 55,000 km every day, he added.

An agreement was signed with M/s Ashok Leyland for purchase of 20 HVAC buses in November 2022 at a cost of Rs 11.20 crore, including taxes (Rs 55.98 lakh each bus).

These buses have latest emission standards (BS-VI) and electronically controlled diesel engines. The buses will have heating and air-conditioning system with air vents. With a capacity of 52 passengers, these buses will have CCTV cameras, a dashboard camera and a reverse camera. Besides, the buses have a GPS device, a panic button and mobile-charging points for each row.

Routes for new buses

The new buses will ply on various routes, including Rishikesh, Katra, Vrindavan, Kotdwar, Mansa, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Chamba, Kathgodam, Delhi, Bhiwani, Narnaul and Agra.