Thane Municipal Transport budget heading towards Rs 100 cr

Thane, Jan 12 (UNI) The annual budget of the Thane Municipal Transport Services (TMTS) is fast heading towards the Rs 100 crore mark, after almost 20 years of its formation.

At the budget meeting of the Transport Committee here, Transport Manager Ashok Rankhamb presented the budget for 2008-09, which is around 94 crore and is devoid of any kind of hike in the fares.

In his proposal, the Manager pointed out that around 87 CNG buses are needed in addition to the existing fleet, and also sought a grant of Rs 8.35 crore from the Thane Municipal Corporation.

As compared to last year, there is a five per cent hike in the budget proposal this year.

The budget proposal observed that as many as 137 buses in the fleet are old and are affecting the services.

The Transport Services expect an income of Rs 57.22 crore from passenger fares, 1.17 crore from advertisements, 1.50 crore from student's passes, Rs 50 lakh from the police department and scrap sales of Rs 1.861 crores.

An expenditure of Rs 1.50 crore on bonus, and Rs one crore on Octori have also been added in the budget.

The administration has provided electronic indicators on the buses, ticketing machine, and expects income from the leasing out of the Lokmanya and Kalwa terminus and depots on BOT besides, letting out of 50 bus stops on BOT basis, which will add to the income.

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