The Deccan Chronicle   06.09.2010

Sept. 5: The Metropolitan Transport Corporation is all set to introduce Bharat Stage IV (BS IV)-certified buses to reduce air pollution in the city. The state government has already passed the orders following the National Auto Fuel Policy, which insists on use of BS IV-certified engines in major Indian cities, including Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Kanpur, Lucknow, Sholapur and Agra.

“The transport corporation will introduce 150 new buses with BS IV-compliant engines by next month. It will be a move from MTC to reduce pollution from city transport buses while increasing the total capacity and strengthening the public transport system,” said MTC managing director V. Paulraj.

A senior MTC official told this newspaper that the purchase of BS IV-compliant buses will be expensive by 15-20 per cent, compared to BS II and BS III models. “These new vehicles are expected to reduce emission in Chennai. Tamil Nadu is introducing this system in Chennai as the city is marked by the auto fuel policy report of the Central government for taking stricter steps considering the high levels of air pollution,” said a senior official of the state transport department.

Thirteen metro cities already have BS III emission regulations and the Centre recently decided to implement BS IV emission norms in these cities so as to reduce vehicular emission. According to the state transport corporation, Chennai has 1.67 lakh transport vehicles and MTC is expected to buy 150-200 new buses by this year-end.

“Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board is operating more than 150 emission-checking centres in Chennai and we do check the emission levels of MTC buses also. The level of carbon monoxide in the city is above permissible limits,” said a TNPCB official.

The Times of India  19.08.2010

CHENNAI: As many as 3,000 new buses will soon be on the roads in Tamil Nadu as the state transport department is set to finalise the tenders called for procuring chasis for the new vehicles in a couple of weeks.

According to official sources, Tata and Ashok Leyland have applied for the tender and once it is finalised, the company selected for the job will be asked to deliver about 500 chasis a month.

"One thousand buses will be allotted to Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation's (TNSTC) Madurai division, 150 vehicles to Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) in Chennai and 100 buses to State Express Transport Corporation (SETC). The remaining vehicles will be allotted to other transport corporations in the state depending upon the number of buses they have,'' sources in the department told The Times of India.

"Bodies for the vehicles will be built by the respective transport corporations. Our idea is to have all the 3,000 vehicles on road in the next six months," the sources added. The new buses, however, will not be airconditioned.

MTC will get only 150 buses since it got about 2,000 new buses in the past two to three years and has almost replaced its ageing fleet.

As of now, SETC, MTC and TNSTC operate a total of about 20,000 buses in Tamil Nadu.

However, the government is yet to issue orders for the operation of mini buses in Chennai, though it had made an announcement in April this year that mini buses would plying on city roads within three months. MTC will operate these buses in the city and suburban areas as feeder services to the nearest bus terminus and railway stations.

"Once the government issues the order, Institute of Road Transport in Taramani will commence the process of procuring mini buses for Chennai," a senior transport official said.

MTC was running mini buses about 15 years ago on several routes, including in Ramavaram, Kodambakkam and Aminjikarai. Presently, there are about 4,000 mini buses on the road in different parts of the state.