17 standard low-floor buses and seven mini-buses have been deployed The Puducherry Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) has inducted 24 standard and mini-buses into its fleet. Chief Minister N. Rangasamy on Wednesday flagged off the new buses purchased under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). PRTC Managing Director P. Devaraj said that of the 17 standard low-floor buses introduced in the fleet, 12 buses would be used for services from Puducherry to Villupuram, Puducherry to Tindivanam, Karaikal to Nagapattinam, Karaikal to Kumbakonam and Karaikal to Mayiladuthurai. The seven mini-buses would be used for connecting Kurumbapet, Solai Nagar, Kurinji Nagar in Lawspet, Thengaithittu and Ariyankuppam. The Government had procured a total of 40 buses under JNNURM at Rs. 8 crore and the remaining buses would be added to the fleet and introduced on various routes. The PRTC has been expanding its fleet under the JNNURM Scheme-I (2009) which involved acquisition of 40 buses and the JNNURM Scheme-II (2013), which involves a tranche of 50 buses, including the ten Volvo buses that were deployed last year. Once all the vehicles join the fleet, the bus strength of PRTC would go from 101 to 141. The buses are expected to improve services for people commuting daily from areas in and around the city and its suburbs. Each standard semi-low-floor bus, which costs Rs.39 lakh (standard buses) and Rs.22 lakh (mini-bus) respectively, has several unique features. The new buses have been provided with Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) for features such as passenger information system, comfortable seats, LED destination boards on front, rear and inside, CCTV and e-ticketing, besides GPRS (general packet radio services) and GPS (global positioning system). The new buses will augment the existing services in rural and urban areas in Puducherry and Karaikal regions. Welfare Minister P. Rajavelu and Chairman of PRTC N. Gnanasegaran were present.