Indore's public transport model to be implemented in over 108 cities

In a bid to reduce the losses incurred in the existing public transport system of several cities, the Central Government is keen on adopting Indore's public transport model. Notably, the Indore model is the only model in the country that is not facing any loss from their city transport system.

At an estimated cost of ₹20,000 crores, the scheme will be implemented in several cities that are facing heavy losses. These cities include Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Bhopal among others.

Read on to know more.

The Indore public transport system is run by Atal Indore City Transport Service Limited (AICTSL) which was incorporated in 2006. AICTSL adopted the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, under which, two private companies were given the tender for bus operation and revenue collection respectively, completely eliminating the loss incurred on operational costs.

Under the Indore model, the private company tasked to operate the buses is given ₹31.50 per km and the company responsible for revenue collection is given ₹32.40 per km.

The model adopted by Indore's AICTSL is common yet unique, as it employs three parties in the entire system- two private companies and AICTSL itself. Using the PPP model in a unique way, AICTSL is currently making a profit of 90 paise per km per bus.

After a detailed study conducted by the Central Government, a draft proposal has been prepared under which 100 buses each will be given to 108 cities. Earlier, the government used to allot funds to the state for buying and operating buses, however, with the adoption of the Indore Public transport model, these buses will be operated by the Central Government itself on the PPP model.

When compared to the public transport system of other cities like Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Bhopal, the Indore model stood as the only model that registered profit. At present over 400 AICTSL buses run in Indore, catering to over 2.5 lakh commuters daily, earning 90 paise per km on each bus.

On the other hand, the Ahmedabad model registers losses worth 340 crores annually, with over 5.5 lac passengers travelling daily on over 950 city buses. A similar scenario was noticed in Jaipur, where 2.20 lac passengers commute on over 300 buses, registering a loss of 90 crores annually.