The fleet of buses,which will be pressed into service by Tata Motors, parked at Telco on Sunday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, May 22: Petrol price hike or no hike, Tata Motors workers can breathe easy from June.

They will be picked up from and dropped back home by company buses from June, the first such employee-friendly initiative in the state extended by any corporate house.

The auto major’s plant head, P.K. Chobe, told The Telegraph that though the date to launch the service was not yet final, modalities were being worked out. “We hope to start the service in June first week,” he said, adding it already existed at the company’s Lucknow and Pantnagar units in Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal, respectively.

The automobile major has roped in a private operator, Lucknow-based Central Transport Company, to offer the service. Officials of the vendor said that so far they had provided 65 42-seater buses to Tata Motors.

“Buses will run in four shifts to cater to around 5,000 employees,” said the transport firm’s manager, G.K. Khan.

Initially, the buses will pick up and drop employees residing in Telco Township only. Later on, the service will extend to other parts of the town where the auto major’s employees reside..

General secretary of Telco Workers’ Union Chandra Bhan Singh said they were discussing finer details of the proposed bus service with the management.

“The company will issue a circular in this regard. The service is being launched keeping in view aspects such as road safety and minimisation of fuel consumption,” he said, adding the bus service would also aid worker efficiency and punctuality.

Elaborating further, the senior union functionary revealed the service would be meant for all workers and supervisors upto assistant general manager (AGM) level. Officials above the AGM rank can use their own vehicle while commuting to their workplace and back.

“Location-wise, a survey is being carried out to determine places where employees would be picked up from and dropped to. Employees will pay a nominal charge, which is yet to be fixed,” said Singh, adding that a spacious parking area was being constructed opposite the company’s main gates for the fleet of buses.