Founded 2007 (2007) Service type Commuter bus Fuel type Diesel
CNG | Service area Surat, India Daily ridership 80,000 | |
Parent Surat Municipal Corporation | ||
Surat City Bus is the name under which city buses are operated in Surat, Gujarat, India. It is operated by a private entity under a public private partnership model for the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC). The model is based on an earlier model by the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) which operated bus services in Ahmedabad on a public-private partnership, but subsequently failed. In 2012, the Government of Gujarat announced that it would set up similar transport facilities in 180 cities across the state under a public-private partnership.
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History
In 1997, the Surat Municipal Corporation had submitted a feasibility report to the Government of Gujarat, for privatisation of bus services in Surat city, as existing services being operated by the state-run Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) were found to be loss-making and insufficient for the city. In 1999, the GSRTC inaugurated a new bus stand and office at Udhna for city and rural bus services in and around the city.
Operations
In August 2007, the SMC entered into an agreement with a private entity to provide bus services for a period of five years. These buses were referred to as Redline buses and were fueled with Compressed natural gas (CNG). In 2013, the SMC was unable to find a new operator, forcing it to extend the existing agreement by a few months. Subsequently, Redline services were suspended because the operator could not break even with the service. This reportedly affected 80,000 commuters per day across the city.
In July 2013, the SMC launched a new line of services labelled Blueline buses, operated by a different operator. These buses included air conditioned buses. A total of 120 bus stops were constructed by the SMC prior to the Blueline buses being flagged off. The Blueline service is expected to run 125 buses for six years.