Sabarmati: Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) today put on the road a new Air Conditioned (AC) double-decker bus. AMC-run Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) has purchased 7 double-decker buses in the first phase for Rs. 6 crore on an experimental basis. Each bus has a seating capacity of 65 passengers, with 29 seats on the lower deck and 36 on the upper deck.

With this, the city has witnessed the service of double-decker buses after over 3 decades. The first double-decker electric AC AMTS bus between Vasna-Chandkheda was flagged off today by the city Mayor at the Jamalpur headquarters of AMTS.

Such electric AC double-decker buses of Switch company were recently launched at GIFT City in Gandhinagar and previously in Mumbai. These red and black buses have facilities like fire extinguishers, CCTV cameras, and ‘stop’ buttons above passenger seats.

A total of four CCTV cameras have been installed in the double-decker bus. For any emergency or announcement, a walkie-talkie set has been provided with the driver. A CCTV camera dashboard is installed in front of the driver, allowing live viewing of the CCTV feed.

Moreover, USB ports are installed between each seat, providing mobile charging facilities. Digital route boards displaying route information are also installed on the front and side of the bus.

AMTS has decided to operate such buses on the route that are clear for such height. These buses will not operate on the routes that have underpasses, under bridges, or obstructions of over bridges passing above the road. As the bus has double capacity due to the ground and first floors, the routes also need to be such that can offer a sufficient number of passengers. Keeping all these issues into consideration, the AMTS has decided to launch these buses on the Vasna – Ashram road route at present. DeshGujarat