The state government has in the recent past run both biogas and ethanol buses, but they’ve been off the roads ... Read More

PANAJI/NAGPUR: The state government may soon float a request for proposal (RFP) for over 50 biogas buses , as ethanol-based buses may not be sustainable for the state. A senior official with the state government told TOI that biogas and electric buses are more apt for Goa.

The move comes close on the heels of reports that Scania, the Swedish bus maker with whom the state-run Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) last year, is wrapping up its ethanol and premium bus manufacturing facility, existing operations, and proposed projects in India.

TOI emailed a 8-point questionnaire to two officials of Scania on May 24. A day later, the PR agency representing the company called saying Scania doesn’t want to reply. Scania has since March this year reportedly relieved a majority of its 1,500 employees, of whom 770 were on rolls.

Some former officials of Scania confirmed that the Narsapur plant has been shut for the last two months. “Some 40-odd people remain with the company, but they too have been asked to resign. We were not given any reason,” they said.

State government officials maintained that Scania is only closing its diesel line and not all operations.

The state government has in the recent past run both biogas and ethanol buses, but they’ve been off the roads for some time now. The government had obtained temporary permission from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO). “We will get full-fledged permission for biogas buses from PESO, and the RFP will be floated to procure more buses,” the official said. He added that the government has set up a biogas dispensing unit at the KTC depot in Porvorim.

Sources from Scania confirmed that three eco-friendly buses — two ethanol and one bio-gas — launched in Goa were not operating since last two-and-a-half months. “Scania is operating the buses in Nagpur with Pune-based Travel Time Car Rental Private Ltd. Scania was also operating buses in Goa with Travel Time. The plan in Goa was to run 130 buses — 70 bio-gas and 60 ethanol buses. However, even Travel Time does not have any idea why Scania stopped operations in Goa,” sources said.

On why the ethanol buses, which were launched on a pilot basis, stopped, the official said that sugarcane, used to manufacture ethanol, is not abundant in Goa.

