KSRTC to procure country’s first indigenously made sleeper buses

New fleets of AC, non-AC and CNG buses to follow

The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is gearing up to operate eight air-conditioned sleeper buses of Volvo that conform to Euro-VI emission norms — the first of their kind to be assembled fully in India by a bus manufacturer — on inter-State routes where there is stiff competition from the Karnataka State RTC and private luxury buses. “The buses that will be manufactured at Volvo’s Bengaluru unit and estimated to cost around ₹1.50 crore apiece, are expected to be introduced in November. The KSRTC was hitherto operating a limited number of AC and semi-sleeper buses (those having recliner seats) to Bengaluru, although its Karnataka counterpart was operating many more, including sleeper buses, to Kerala,” sources said. Each bus that the KSRTC intends to procure will have 39 sleeper berths, with charger sockets in all berths, said Sibi Mathai, an entrepreneur whose firm maintains the premium buses of the KSRTC and many other RTCs.