The Hindu Business Line : APSRTC to run 100 CNG buses

The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) would run 100 new buses of Vidyadharapuram depot in Vijayawada on compressed natural gas (CNG) from October this year when Bhagyanagar Gas Ltd (BGL) begins gas supplies. This makes the APSRTC the first transport utility in southern India to use CNG for buses.

BGL is a special purpose vehicle promoted by the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL). BGL would supply CNG with a dispenser at Vidyadharapuram at a fixed rate of Rs 20.50 per kilogram.

PACT SIGNED

The APSRTC Chief Controller of Stores, Mr C. Ranga Rao, and the BGL Director, Commercial, Mr A. Viswanadha Sarma, have signed a memorandum of understanding in the presence of the State Transport Minister, Mr Kanna Lakshminarayana, here on Sunday.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said the move to run CNG buses was part of the reforms initiated towards improving services, reducing costs and improving profits of the Corporation, apart from supporting the environment protection.

The BGL Managing Director, Mr C.N. Trivedi, said allocation of 80,000 kg of CNG per day would fuel around 1,000 buses. Starting with 100 buses in Vidyadharapuram depot, BGL proposes to expand its operations to cover Vijayawada, Guntur, Kakinada and Hyderabad in phases, he said.

FUTURE PLANS

According to the APSRTC Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mr M.V. Krishna Rao, the Corporation plans to convert all its buses in Vijayawada to CNG in the next phase and introduce CNG buses in other cities thereafter.

BGL, which has already launched CNG in Vijayawada during August last year, is currently supplying CNG to various vehicles through four dispensing stations. Further, BGL has recently commissioned its first CNG dispensing station in Hyderabad near Nagole.

BGL is currently operating four auto LPG stations in the State, three in Hyderabad and one in Tirupati.

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