PATNA: City residents hailed the ban on diesel-operated city service buses on the Patna, Danapur, Khagaul and Phulwarisharif routes from October 1 as a good initiative to create clean and green environment.
However, the transport service operators are unhappy with the decision but have started the CNG-operated bus service on these routes.
Around 150 city service buses were running on these routes in Patna and Danapur areas. From October 1, a heavy penalty will be imposed on any diesel-operated city bus found running on the road. Such buses would also be seized by the transport department.
“The transport department’s decision will reduce carbon emissions to a great extent. The city buses running on the roads were in bad shape. They were found emitting black smoke from their silencers, which was not good for health,” said Kunal Bharti, a resident of Patel Nagar.
City air pollution remains one of the biggest concerns for the residents. The diesel-operated autorickshaws were earlier replaced by CNG ones.
The government-operated city buses were also replaced by CNG and electric buses. Now, it’s the turn of the private buses.
“The cumulative cost of running a non-AC bus is around Rs35/km and close to Rs50/km for an AC bus. For an electric bus, the cost is around Rs12/km,” said an official of the transport department.
Suresh Gupta, a resident of Boring Road, said the decision is in the favour of common people as Patna has become one of the worst air polluted cities in the country. Not only the government but the people should also be aware of the adverse effect of diesel emissions. They should also avoid purchasing diesel-operated cars, he added.
Ganesh Kumar, general secretary of Patna City Bus Service Association said, “We are still waiting for the subsidiary amount for purchasing CNG buses. We will not ply diesel buses from tomorrow as per the direction of the transport department. Around 120 government CNG and electric city buses are running currently. Nearly 30 private CNG city buses will operate from October. Rest of the vehicle owners would wait till the purchase of new buses.”
The central government had decided to ban diesel-operated commercial vehicles in 2019. But due to the demand of the transporters, the date was extended till September 30, 2023.
However, the transport service operators are unhappy with the decision but have started the CNG-operated bus service on these routes.
Around 150 city service buses were running on these routes in Patna and Danapur areas. From October 1, a heavy penalty will be imposed on any diesel-operated city bus found running on the road. Such buses would also be seized by the transport department.
“The transport department’s decision will reduce carbon emissions to a great extent. The city buses running on the roads were in bad shape. They were found emitting black smoke from their silencers, which was not good for health,” said Kunal Bharti, a resident of Patel Nagar.
City air pollution remains one of the biggest concerns for the residents. The diesel-operated autorickshaws were earlier replaced by CNG ones.
The government-operated city buses were also replaced by CNG and electric buses. Now, it’s the turn of the private buses.
“The cumulative cost of running a non-AC bus is around Rs35/km and close to Rs50/km for an AC bus. For an electric bus, the cost is around Rs12/km,” said an official of the transport department.
Suresh Gupta, a resident of Boring Road, said the decision is in the favour of common people as Patna has become one of the worst air polluted cities in the country. Not only the government but the people should also be aware of the adverse effect of diesel emissions. They should also avoid purchasing diesel-operated cars, he added.
Ganesh Kumar, general secretary of Patna City Bus Service Association said, “We are still waiting for the subsidiary amount for purchasing CNG buses. We will not ply diesel buses from tomorrow as per the direction of the transport department. Around 120 government CNG and electric city buses are running currently. Nearly 30 private CNG city buses will operate from October. Rest of the vehicle owners would wait till the purchase of new buses.”
The central government had decided to ban diesel-operated commercial vehicles in 2019. But due to the demand of the transporters, the date was extended till September 30, 2023.
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