Centre to provide financial aid to run buses | Fusion - WeRIndia

The central government is going to roll out a programme to provide financial aid for running over 10,000 buses in 108 cities. The scheme was announced by the government in the 2021-22 budget. It has been around 15 months since the announcement was made.

Now, the central government decided to roll out the scheme in 108 cities across the country. The scheme aims to expand the public transport system in various cities across the country. It allows private bus operators to acquire buses and operate them on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Cities with a population of five lakhs to 40 lakhs are eligible to get financial assistance under the scheme. The scheme will continue for eight years.

Each eligible city will get around 100 city buses under the scheme. The number of buses for them will be increased if required.

The allocated budget for the scheme is ₹18,000 crores. A proposal will be sent for the approval of the Cabinet.

The scheme will be implemented under the PPP model. The ministry will provide a share of the payments for running buses. It will be paid to private operators to run buses.

Private bus operators in the cities have to quote a price for the contracts for a specific period. They will be selected, based on the bid amount they quoted to the state government. The government will pay them per kilometre.

As per sources, the amount paid by the Centre will vary based on the population of the city. For instance, cities with a population of 20-40 lakhs will get 25% of the contract value, while it will be more and up to 35% for cities with a lesser population.

Cities that choose the bus service for the first time will get an additional payment of 5%. Similarly, cities that choose CNG buses will get an additional amount of 2%.

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