Team Herald
PANJIM: The State cabinet on Wednesday approved the ‘Private Bus Hiring by Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited’ or ‘Mhaji Bus’ scheme, wherein private buses would be taken onboard by the Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) to strengthen public transport network.
The scheme would be implemented on few routes like Panjim-Canacona, Panjim-Pernem and Panjim-Ponda-Sanvordemto begin with, informed Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
In order to “rejuvenate private buses” that went off the road during pandemic, in budget speech 2023-24 the Chief Minister had announced that Government intended to implement scheme of private bus hiring under KTCL.
All private buses operating on the selected routes will come under the ambit of the scheme. Fixed amount will be paid to the bus owners based on the number of kilometres covered by the bus.
The amount to be paid will be modified based on fuel prices from time to time. The conductor will be KTC staffer while the driver will be deployed by the owner. Maintenance and other expenses will also be borne by the owner.
The scheme will be tried on the above three pilot routes first. It will be tweaked based on the response and will be made applicable to the rest of the State.
Before taking the buses onboard, the government will ensure that they are roadworthy, clean and worth travelling, he added. The government also has plans to make the time-tables of these buses available to the commuters digitally.
