By IANS
Chandigarh : Even as Delhi battles its ramshackle 'killer' Blueline buses, commuting in Chandigarh is set to get more comfortable with the union territory administration deciding to phase out all non-air conditioned buses from the public transport system and replace them with air-conditioned (AC) ones.
The state transport authority (STA) here has decided to add a fleet of AC buses to replace the existing non-AC ones to provide better public transport to the city's residents, an administration spokesman said.
He said that the move was aimed at encouraging people to use public transport instead of using their personal vehicles in the city.
The 114 square km city has one of the highest densities of vehicles in the country with nearly 600,000 registered motor vehicles for a population of just 1 mn (10 lakh persons).
The state-owned Chandigarh transport undertaking (CTU) had introduced grid system for its local buses last year. Under this system, a bus is supposed to arrive at each bus stop every seven minutes. The system – introduced with modern low-floor buses – has become popular with local residents.
There is no private bus transporter allowed in the city, though private radio taxis were introduced over a year ago.