Guwahati: Five eight-wheeled, 47-seater Volvo luxury buses, to be operated on a public-private partnership (PPP) by the Assam State Transport Corporation, were flagged off by minister for transport, industries and commerce Chandra Mohan Patowary at the ASTC bus stop in Paltan Bazar on Wednesday.

The buses have luxurious 2x2 seats, video system, ACs, Internet facilitie, charger points and other amenities.

The routes of the five buses will be Guwahati to Sadiya, Guwahati to North Lakhimpur, Guwahati to Siliguri, Guwahati to Sivasagar and North Lakhimpur-Guwahati- Siliguri.

"This is the first batch of 36 Volvo buses that will operate under the ASTC following an MoU signed by representatives of the ASTC and Volvo. A part of the profit will go to the ASTC. The fare has been fixed at Rs 2.20 per km, which must be the lowest in the country for luxury buses," Patowary said.

"Another MoU has been signed with Mercedes for operating 175 buses with the same facilities. Instead of buying buses that cost Rs 2 crore each, we have opted to operate them on a PPP mode. People can travel in luxury and comfort at a reasonable fare. Private operators charge much more. We have also tied up with Ola for travel to and from the inter-state bus terminus in Guwahati besides connectivity between Last Mile and their destinations."

"A passenger can book the taxis at the time of purchasing their bus tickets. It gives me immense pleasure to announce that the ASTC has increased its profit by 32 per cent from the last fiscal. We have been able to increase the salaries of our temporary employees," Patowary said in the presence of ASTC managing director Anand Prakash Tiwari and chairman Ashutosh Agnihotri.