MSRTC to bring back 3x2 bus seating to boost revenue and passenger capacity

In a bid to increase its revenue and passenger capacity on its buses the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC will bring back the 3x2 seating arrangement after more than 15 years officials said on Sunday reported news agency PTIEarlier this week the transport bodys board approved the purchase of 3000 new buses with conventional 3x2 seating instead of the existing 2x2 arrangement in ordinary buses they said reported PTITalking to PTI state Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said the 3x2 seating will bring more revenue to the corporation and give the passengers a comfortable ride especially in rural areasEarlier there were 5255 seats in a bus but now that number has come down to 40 So automatically the requirement for buses went up but the income per trip dropped Hence we decided to reintroduce 3x2 buses in the fleet Pratap Sarnaik told PTIAccording to officials this is a significant development as it will help the lossmaking corporation generate more revenue and enable it to carry more passengers per busWith a fleet of around 15000 including around 12500 ordinary buses the MSRTC is the largest state transport corporation in the countryOfficials pointed out that the ordinary buses of state transport corporations in neighbouring states still follow the 3x2 seating arrangement and even the semiluxury buses of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation KSRTC have this layout reported PTIAn MSRTC official said Minister Sarnaik visited the KSRTC and GSRTC with senior officials learnt the economics of seating arrangements in ordinary buses and decided to reintroduce the 3x2 formatPassengers were forced to travel standing in the gangway At least they now will get a place to sit and travel comfortably he said reported PTIHe said the number of women and elderly passengers increased significantly since the state government made travel free for senior citizens and gave a 50 per cent concession to women reported PTIThe official said around 2008 the corporation decided to change the seating format and the iconic yellowred colour scheme and rebranded its ordinary buses as Parivartan transformation by introducing a 2x2 seating arrangementAs these buses were more spacious and comfortable they became popular among passengersOfficials said while the 2x2 seating arrangement provided comfort especially on urban routes with features like hand rests a wider gangway etc passengers on crowded rural or semiurban routes were dissatisfied reported PTIWith the 3x2 seating arrangement the seats and gangway may feel a bit congested but passengers are more likely to get a seat during their journey as the number of seats in 11metrelong ordinary buses will increase from 40 to 50 they said reported PTIA senior official said the corporation has already floated a tender for 3x2 seat ordinary buses and a prebid meeting has happenedHe said it would take a few months for these buses to hit the streets of MaharashtraThese buses will be effective on short and medium shortdistance routes the official said reported PTIWith inputs from PTIatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params