The Hindu : New Delhi News : DTC plans more Volvo buses on tourist circuits

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 06, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

DTC plans more Volvo buses on tourist circuits

By Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

NEW DELHI, JUNE 5. The tremendous success of the Delhi-Katra Volvo luxury bus service has prompted the Delhi Transport Corporation to seriously think about introduction of similar buses on other tourist circuits around Delhi.

A senior DTC today official said that the bus service, which was launched on a trial basis on April 30, has received a very encouraging response and is running at over 80 per cent capacity on an average. "While the service from Delhi to Katra has been running to capacity, the return journey is not running full and that is why the average is around 80 per cent.''

Stating that as of now the operation is being provided free of cost by Volvo and DTC is only providing diesel for the bus, the official said even if one considers a payment of between Rs 10 and Rs 12 per kilometre, which the company is now demanding for its extended operations, the profit is sizeable.

"The fare being Rs 580 for the 684 km distance, on a single trip the cost to DTC would be around Rs 8,000 whereas even at 80 per cent capacity or 30 passengers, it stands to earn around Rs 20,000, which leaves it with a neat profit of Rs 12,000 per single trip.''

Considering that DTC is running three return trips to Katra per week, the official said the profit is working out to around Rs 75,000 per week or Rs 3 lakhs per month.

Of the view that this was a decent performance considering that the loss-making DTC also does not have to invest anything for running such a luxury bus service, the official said the Corporation is now seriously considering Volvo's proposal to run nearly a dozen more such buses.

"We are interested in a lease agreement for running the services as it saves us from a lot of problems and also provides for operations and maintenance in a very professional manner,'' the official said, adding that in the near future places such as Agra, Jaipur, Lucknow and Amritsar are likely to be connected through these luxury buses, which cost around Rs 52 lakhs each but would be available to people at very competitive fares.

Also, he said, DTC was optimistic that all these services would be very successful as they would save the passengers from a lot of bother. "The reservation process is very easy and one does not have to hop across platforms to board these buses. Also, there is no threat of a theft of luggage in these buses.''

As of now both to-and-fro trips to Katra operate overnight and therefore provide the passengers ample time to relax while travelling and also save the working hours for them. However, the final decision on the operation of these buses would rest with the Delhi Government.

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