Nagpur: Super Transit Services, a company from Bengaluru, exhibited what was billed to become the first LNG bus in the country at Agrovision Expo here.
There are plans to run a vehicle on the route Nagpur-Raipur and Nagpur-Jabalpur in the coming weeks.
The Transport Minister Union Nitin Gadkari, who has patronized the exhibition, is also a strong advocate of alternative fuels.
The company now has two Nagpur-based entrepreneurs in the helmet.
Formed in October 2019, Super Transit services initially have other individuals in management.
“So far we have a CNG bus but now we have launched a bus that runs on LNG too, which is more economical,” said Safe Shaikh, a management official.
He will take over as a director along with Kalyan Deshpande, also from Nagpur.
The move was asked by opening the first commercial LNG charging station in the country by Baidyanath Group in Nagpur.
Shaikh said, “We have changed the Ashok Leyland bus to LNG.
It has taken an investment around RS15 Lakh.
It’s more than 5 years old but also proves that on the LNG even the old bus runs better.
The operating costs fell 35%,” he said.
Super transit plans to rent a bus from an existing operator and change the vehicle to LNG.
The first bus planned to run from Nagpur to Raipur is expected to be launched in 2-3 weeks.
The bus belongs to Mahendra Travels, Raipur-based transporter.
“Another bus from a different transporter that will be on the route Nagpur-Jabalpur is also expected to run soon,” he said.
As part of its long-term strategy, there are plans to start filling stations throughout the country.
To start, 10 stations will begin including several in Vidarbha.
“This will allow starting bus operations on other routes too,” he said.
Like Nagpur and Raipur or Jabalpur, there are other cities in the country separated by a distance of 250 to 300 km.
There are plans to start services between cities like Delhi to Manali.
The company plans to raise money to prepare charging stations through clean energy funds.
Meanwhile, Rawmatt Industries Private Limited, who already has a CNG pump, now plans to start the BIO-LNG charging station in the city.
The company will make BIO-CNG itself.
KAUSTUBH Gupta Rawmatt said that there was a plan to produce BIO-LNG through straw-straw and sell it to the retail sector.
“We will start with a capacity of 10 tons because the operation is expected to begin in the next 6-7 months.
Both the LNG produced from hydrocarbon deposits and those made of bio-waste can be used in the same vehicle,” Gupta said.
“Because the number of charging stations increases, it is expected that LNG demand will be created to the level that is quite offtake for Rawmatt production,” Gupta said.