Summary:
In 2018-19, BMTC inducted 279 new buses and scrapped 325 old ones.Officials attributed the delay in induction of new buses to a National Green Tribunal’s stay in adding new diesel buses and financial crunch. In 2017-18, the number of such buses was 5 per cent.But what comes as a shocker is the fact that the number of over-aged buses have gone up despite BMTC redefining guidelines pertaining to the operational life of buses. Earlier, buses that have run 7.5km or completed 10 years were junked.The new scrapping policy allows BMTC to operate old buses, forcing citizens to travel in vehicles that are not roadworthy. BENGALURU: The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), which once owned brand-new buses, is now struggling with over-aged vehicles.The Economic Survey of Karnataka for 2018-19 released on Friday shows 19 per cent (1,267 buses) of the 6,631 vehicles operated by the state-run corporation are old. Every month, an average of 350 breakdowns of buses are being reported, which translates to 11 a day..