<p>The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) inducted the country’s first bio-diesel buses into its fleet on Saturday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Speaking after flagging off 25 luxury multi-axle Scania buses at the KSRTC depot here, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said bio-diesel was cheaper than diesel and was eco-friendly.<br /><br />Rajender Kumar Kataria, Managing Director, KSRTC said the emission levels of bio-diesel buses were 60 to 70% lesser than diesel buses, with mileage and engine efficiency being unaffected.<br /><br />“The bus manufacturer Scania was given the contract to provide 25 diesel buses. But we decided to procure retrofitted bio-diesel buses, instead of diesel ones, after the trial. The retrofitted buses can be run on diesel or a mix of bio-diesel and diesel, without any engine modifications,” Kataria said.<br /><br />He said a company from Telangana will supply bio-diesel for the buses. “There are a few producers of bio-diesel at present. The production will, for sure, increase with the increase in demand.”<br /><br />The 25 new buses will be deployed on the Bengaluru-Kundapur, Bengaluru-Bidar, Bengaluru-Tirupati and Bengaluru-Chennai routes, with no changes in the prices.<br /><br />“All high-end buses to be procured in the future will be retrofitted with bio-diesel kits. The KSRTC will run the existing fleet of ordinary diesel buses on a blend of 20% biodiesel and 80% diesel, without any engine modification, to make them eco-friendly,” Kataria said.</p>
<p>The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) inducted the country’s first bio-diesel buses into its fleet on Saturday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Speaking after flagging off 25 luxury multi-axle Scania buses at the KSRTC depot here, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said bio-diesel was cheaper than diesel and was eco-friendly.<br /><br />Rajender Kumar Kataria, Managing Director, KSRTC said the emission levels of bio-diesel buses were 60 to 70% lesser than diesel buses, with mileage and engine efficiency being unaffected.<br /><br />“The bus manufacturer Scania was given the contract to provide 25 diesel buses. But we decided to procure retrofitted bio-diesel buses, instead of diesel ones, after the trial. The retrofitted buses can be run on diesel or a mix of bio-diesel and diesel, without any engine modifications,” Kataria said.<br /><br />He said a company from Telangana will supply bio-diesel for the buses. “There are a few producers of bio-diesel at present. The production will, for sure, increase with the increase in demand.”<br /><br />The 25 new buses will be deployed on the Bengaluru-Kundapur, Bengaluru-Bidar, Bengaluru-Tirupati and Bengaluru-Chennai routes, with no changes in the prices.<br /><br />“All high-end buses to be procured in the future will be retrofitted with bio-diesel kits. The KSRTC will run the existing fleet of ordinary diesel buses on a blend of 20% biodiesel and 80% diesel, without any engine modification, to make them eco-friendly,” Kataria said.</p>
