600 new buses with in 3 months

Tirchi:Transport Minister K.N. Nehru handing over a free bus pass to a school student at the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) office in Tiruchi on Monday.The Government plans to introduce 600 to 700 new buses in three months, Transport Minister K.N. Nehru said here on Monday.Speaking to reporters after distributing free bus passes to school students, Mr. Nehru said the Government planned to acquire 3,000 new buses in the current year. While 600 to 700 buses would be introduced in three months time, the rest would be in purchased in six months.

There were plans to install the global positioning system (GPS) in government buses to track their movement. It would be done in a year's time in long distance buses operated by the State Express Transport Corporation.He said of the 700 new routes introduced in the State within a year, 270 of them were in the State Transport Corporation's Kumbakonam division.Regarding the operation of students' special buses, Mr. Nehru said a survey was being done. The services would be introduced in Chennai first.

Contrary to last year when the free bus passes were issued in July, the Government had decided to provide the same on the day schools reopened, for the benefit of students. A total of 20 lakh free bus passes were issued last year. In the current year, 25 lakh passes would be issued.District Collector Ashish Vachhani, Mayor Sarubala R. Tondaiman, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, Kumbakonam Division, S. Kothandapani, and Chief Educational Officer R. Muthukrishnan spoke.