Punjab to launch improved bus service through SPV

To meet the growing need for Public Transport, Punjab government, through formation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), would implement a good quality and effective city bus service.

The service would initially be launched in Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar and later in Patiala and Bathinda on public-private-partnership model.

This would not only benefit thousands of commuters but would also help in checking pollution and easing congestion in these cities. The proposal has been approved by the government.

According to sources in the state government, the special purpose company, formed by Municipal Corporation and Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB), would provide an umbrella for management of the public transport system and act as a specialised and effective regulatory agency to monitor cost effective and good transport system with Private sector participation in each city.

In Indore, Indore City Transport Services Limited (ICTSL) (formed by Municipal Corporation and Indore Development Authority) has very successfully introduced high quality City Bus Service (CBS).

The project has been designed by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Service (IL&FS), as it is working as project advisor to the Punjab government and are working on various infrastructure development projects being implemented by the Punjab government.

Commenting on salient features, an IL&FS source said, "City bus service would be reliable, efficient, affordable and contemporary. It is expected that the buses would be operated on most popular routes and planned to have convenient timings and schedules for public."

It is proposed that the real time vehicle tracking system should be installed to ensure effective operation and management of the city buses. Also, real-time information would be flashed on display boards at bus stops. Apart from that modern ticketing and pass system (daily and monthly) will be one of the key features of bus service.

SPV will have complete control on operation, maintenance and management of the bus service through a centralised office accommodating all operators and vendors.

The preliminary city routes for launch of bus service have already been identified and The buses will operate within municipal limits on those routes as per specified time-schedule very shortly.