To cut down the emission of greenhouse gases, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will roll out buses running on biodiesel from June 5 (world environment day).
The move would also save money for the corporation as it gets a rebate of Rs five per litre of biofuel. The corporation has decided to run 1,700 buses from 15 depots across the state on biofuel. Each biobus will be run with 20% biodiesel and 80% diesel. The letter of intent to procure 41.34 lakh litres biodiesel had already been placed with a Telangana company.
Rajender Kumar Kataria, Managing Director, KSRTC, said the corporation has plans to run its entire 8,400 fleet of buses on biodiesel in the future. Buses from the other three corporations, NEKRTC, NWKRTC and BMTC will also be run on biofuel if all goes as per the plan. If this becomes a reality, then Rs 60-70 crore will be saved annually on diesel.
Last year, the corporation had introduced 10 bio-buses on a trial basis. An expert group from the Centre for infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CiSTUP) at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), JSS college of Technology and the R V College of Engineering was asked to submit a report on technical performance, fuel efficiency, engine performance and fuel emission of the biobus.
The group had come out with a report stated that emissions and greenhouses gases came down in the biobuses. Buoyed by the positive response on using biodiesel, the KSRTC has decided to make its buses eco-friendly by using biodiesel.