132-Seater Bus With Flight Like Facility Proposed for Nagpur by Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi: The Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari said work is underway on a pilot project in Nagpur involving a 132-seater bus which will have airplane-like seating and a “bus hostess”.

He informed this during an exclusive conversation during the NDTV Infrashakti Awards on Tuesday. The 132-seater bus proposed for Nagpur will run on non-polluting sources of energy.

“We are doing a pilot project in Nagpur with Tata. When I went to the Czech Republic, they have a trolley bus which is achieved by joining three buses. Our project will seat 132 people and will travel 49 km on the ring road and it will halt at the bus stop after 40 km, getting charged for the next 40 km in just 40 seconds. The cost for this is working out to Rs 35-40 per km,” Gadkari said said.

“I have suggested it needs air-conditioning, comfortable chairs and space to keep a laptop in front of the seats. And, like air hostesses, there should be bus hostesses to give people fruits, packed food and beverages. My calculation is that this bus will cost (to run) 30% less than a diesel bus. If solar power is used, the cost will go down even more,” he added.