GUWAHATI, March 8 - Transport Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary today said Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) has inked agreements to operate quality buses in the State.
�We will not buy the buses. Volvo is facilitating agreements with operators. One MoU has already been signed. Initially, 10 Volvo buses will ply as part of a pilot project. If it is viable, more buses will be deployed,� Patowary informed the Assembly today.
The first fleet of Volvo buses is expected to arrive in April. The ASTC is trying to ink pacts with more operators to operate buses on the PPP mode.
The ASTC will pay a particular amount on per km basis to the operators, Patowary said.
Referring to the poor condition of the ASTC buses in the State, he said around 500 buses have been sent for repairs to the workshops of authorised dealers.
The ASTC has taken a loan from the UBI to repair the buses. The minister also said hundreds of unskilled workers were appointed in the ASTC workshops by previous governments.
