Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Kerala State Road Transport Corporation on Monday rolled out its first LNG powered bus service from Thiruvananthapuram Central Bus stand. The rollout is the beginning of the state's road transport corporation initiative to move towards Green energy with the intention of cutting down the corporation's expenses on fuel.
State Transport minister Antony Raju flagged off the first service that runs from Thiruvananthapuram to Eranakulam and Eranakulam to Kozhikode. Addressing the inaugural event, the minister said that the LNG fuelled buses will be tested for a period of three months. The government wants to thoroughly study the viability of operating the KSRTC buses through CNG and LNG including at the high ranges. Petronet LNG Limited, a central government enterprise, has partnered with the state government for the initiative and provided two of their buses for the experiment.
"Based on the viability studies and feedback from our KSTRC employees, the government will go forward to turn the KSRTC buses into green fuel. If the experiment fails, it will be a setback for the government financially. With the increase in fuel prices every day, there will be measures to increase revenue and reduce costs to make KSRTC more efficient," Raju mentioned.
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The move towards green fuel is part of KSRTC's plan for restoration as the state transport corporation is bleeding with the loss. Biju Prabhakar, Chairman and Managing Director, KSRTC said that they can't take forward the corporation with soaring fuel prices. Converting the buses to LNG or CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) appears profitable. The state government has sanctioned Rs 380 crore to procure 360 new vehicles including 310 CNG fueled and 50 electric-powered vehicles and convert existing 400 diesel buses into LNG fuel.
He also thanked Petronet LNG for their cooperation stating that it was possible because Petronet was situated in Kerala. If the experiment succeeds, the corporation will go ahead converting 400 diesel buses into LNG fuel, he added. The transport minister said that the plan of the government is to convert 400 diesel buses into LNG and 1000 buses into CNG in future. The government wants to take up the project only after experimenting with the viability thoroughly, he said.
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