Nine firms ‘express interest’ in major Noida bus project

Nine companies, including two international organisations, on Friday submitted their expression of interest (EOI) to the Noida Authority for the improved city bus operation under the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) project.

To improve the public transportation system in Noida and Greater Noida, the Noida Authority had invited an EOI for SPV last week. Nine companies including a UK based company, Serco and French company Veolia showed interest in operating the buses in the twin cities.

According to officials, the final decision would be taken within a week. ‘The EOI have been handed over to the consultants of UMTC (Urban Mass Transit Company) for evaluation. After a week, we will prepare Request for Proposal and select the company for the project,’ said Sandeep Chandra, Noida’s senior project manager.

He also informed that initially 100 buses will run under the project and the numbers would be increased to 270 later. The CEO, Rama Raman in the last meeting had also directed officials to create a five-acre bus depot at Sector 82 to accommodate these 100 buses.

Serco currently runs operations in Indore for 50 buses. The other companies that have shown interest in the project include Ahmedabad’s BRT operator, Chartered Speed. The Special Purpose Vehicle, (SPV)  is the pilot project of the authority which aims at introducing 100 city buses to make the travel convenient for the residents of the twin cities. It will run the buses under the Noida Traffic Cell.