Country’s first bio-diesel buses to hit the roads soon, courtesy Karnataka transport corporation

In what is a first for the country, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation launched a set of 100% bio-diesel buses on Saturday. The move comes as part of the Corporation's efforts to cut down on the pollution caused by diesel emissions from its buses.  The new 25 multi-axle eco-friendly buses will ply on four routes, including to Kundhapura, Bidar, Tirupati and Chennai. The buses, costing Rs 91.10 lakh each, were officially launched following the successful trial run of a bio-diesel bus on the Bengaluru-Chennai route for the past four months.  Inaugurating the event at the KSRTC depot in Bengaluru, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy spoke about the benefits of the bio-diesel buses, stressing that they are cheaper and more eco-friendly than diesel buses. With 60-70% lesser emissions than diesel buses, the new buses would go a long way in the state’s initiatives to control rising pollution levels. By doing so, the corporation can also cut down on its expenditure, with a saving of nearly Rs 80 lakh per annum. Citing the lower number of producers of bio-diesel in the state, KSRTC Managing Director Rajender Kataria told Deccan Herald that a company from Telangana will provide bio-diesel for buses in the state. Taking the plan further, the MD said, all high-end buses procured by the state in the future will also run on bio-diesel.  Existing buses will be run on a blend of 20% bio-diesel and 80% diesel, Kataria said.  According to its official figures, KSRTC has a total of 8090 vehicles, with 7680 schedules a day, serving an average of 23 lakh passengers a day.