The Maharashtra government has approved a Rs 9.7 billion plan to convert 5,000 diesel-run Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses to Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) as part of its green transport initiative.
According to the government resolution, the allocated funds will be distributed over four years: Rs 400 million for 2024-25, Rs 2 billion for 2025-26, Rs 3.7 billion for 2026-27, and Rs 3.6 billion for 2027-28. The MSRTC board of directors had previously estimated the conversion and maintenance cost, including fuel provision, at Rs 1.94 million per bus.
This conversion is expected to reduce the fuel costs for MSRTC. In addition to the LNG conversion, MSRTC will also be adding 5,150 electric buses to its fleet, some of which are already in service.
MSRTC operates a fleet of approximately 15,000 buses, transporting around 6 million passengers daily.