AC buses big hit with passengers this summer

Bhubaneswar: The scorching heat has forced passengers to commute in AC buses though these are costlier than express buses. This might mean burning a hole in their pockets but bus operators are happy with the business.
"The AC buses witness 60 to 70% occupancy on normal days, but it has crossed 90% during the summer," said general secretary of Odisha Private Bus Owners Association Debendra Sahu.
"At times, passengers don't even get seats. They opt for Deluxe and Express buses," said Sahu.
More than 14,000 private buses are plying in the state, out of which 1,400 are fitted with ACs.
Keeping the demand in view, the bus owners said they will increase the number of vehicles from 10% to 40% within 5 to 6 years.
At present, private buses charge 101 paise per kilometer for AC buses, while it charge 61p and 80p per km in Express and Deluxe buses. e.g, a passenger from Bhubaneswar will spend Rs 273 to go to Baripada in an AC buse. It is higher than Deluxe (Rs 216) and Express buses (Rs 165). "The heatwave is unbearable. Though travelling in AC buses is a bit costly, still it is comfortable," said a passenger Jyoti Ranjan Das from Nabarangapur.
Dream Team Sahara (DTS), the company which runs the city bus service from Bhubaneswar to Cuttack and Puri, has received good response from the passengers. Number of passengers doubled in the AC buses due to the summer. DTS chief executive officer Sudhanshu Jena said they have 12 AC buses plying in the capital city and in the route of Bhubaneswar-Puri. Eight such buses are running between Puri and Bhubaneswar, while four are plying inside the capital city.
Jena said they have witnessed passengers between 2,400 and 2,600 in summer against 1,200 on normal days. The Puri and Bhubaneswar route is getting heavy passenger traffic though our fare is Rs 100 a person, he added.
However, government-owned Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) has no AC buses plying in the state. It has 384 buses running in the state out of its 459 buses. Some buses have been fitted with ACs, but these are defunct, said an OSRTC official.
OSRTC DGM (operations) Sudhir Behera said they have submitted a proposal to the state government to sanction Rs 20 crore to purchase 20 to 30 buses very soon. The corporation has not bought a single vehicle since 2013. "We are planning to install new ACs in our buses instead of repairing the old ones," said Behera.
Official sources said most of their buses are plying in Maoist-hit areas and passing through rural areas where private players don't show interest to run buses.
People can't afford fare of AC buses in the rural pockets, so we didn't upgrade the existing ones. Some buses plying in urban routes had been fitted with ACs, but these are not working, said an officer.