Thane: Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) on Friday (January 22) tabled the annual budget of Rs 458.13 crore. The announcement of the same was made today when TMT announced its annual budget held.
In addition to this, the TMT Committee has also promised to increase the frequency of their bus service, with an increase in the total number of routes to attract the maximum footfalls of passengers.
"This year, the TMT has not announced any fare hikes in services. Hence, this year, the TMT has aimed to increase its fleet by 350 more buses to attract footfall from passengers to add to more income, as this year the TMT has faced loss of around Rs. 80 crore amid the pandemic. Meanwhile, a total budget of Rs 458.13 crore has been allocated, and the TMT has proposed a fund of Rs 284.63 crore," said Dnyaneshwar Dhere, TMT transport manager.
The budget was presented at the TMT depot located at Wagle estate, in presence of TMT Committee members on Friday.
"With the economic loss to the TMT amid the pandemic, the department also lost the lives of a total of 14 TMT employees, who had tested COVID-19 positive. During the same time, a total of 30 TMT buses were turned into an ambulance for COVID-19 patients. Hence, by the end of 2021, we aimed to increase the total fleet by around 700 more buses," said a senior official from the TMT department.
With the increase in its total fleet, TMT officials have also announced developing the alloted plot, existing depots, installing solar power plants to save the electricity and also to survey more new routes to benefit both passengers and TMT economically.
"At present a total of 333 buses are in TMT's fleet, among these only 110 are run by TMT, while the remaining are functional on GCC (Gross Cross Contract) policy. Hence, the TMT aims to add 200 more buses on PPP policy, 100 electrical buses, and 50 Midi buses in the TMT's Fleet," added TMT official.
