Clean air, decongested roads and zero mishap — a Tata Motors bus service has driven home promises for its employees in less than a year of its launch in the steel city.

During the last 10 months since automobile major started the shuttle service last August, providing pick-and-drop facility, it has not only helped in bringing down pollution on road but also road mishaps involving its employees.

“The CO2 emission level has come down drastically since the bus service was introduced. Moreover, the road accident cases (commonly referred to as injury on duty) has also reduced in the last 10 months,” said Capt. P.J. Singh, a spokesperson of Tata Motors Limited.

According to official figures, the city witnessed 12-14 road mishaps involving Tata Motors employees every month before the mass transportation system was started.

The number of mishaps came down by half in August and September when a few employees continued to use their vehicles.

In October and November, three mishaps were reported. The cases were reduced to two in December, followed by three this January. But no more road accidents have been reported since then.

“We appreciate the bus service introduced by the automobile company for its employees, which is the first of its kind in Jharkhand extended by any corporate house. It has greatly helped in checking pollution and bringing down mishaps significantly,” said DSP (traffic) G.N. Singh.

A fleet of 90-odd buses makes trips for different shifts of employees. Initially, soon after its launch the bus service was confined to Telco Colony, but it gradually began to cover other parts of the city and its periphery including Govindpur and Mango.

An upbeat company management has decided to make the bus service more effective. “We are contemplating to introduce bus tracking system so that the movement of buses could be monitored from the control room,” said the company spokesperson.

The service caters to around 5,000 employees.