The burgeoning population of the Vasai-Virar municipal region living in far flung areas will no longer be burdened by the sharp hike in auto-rickshaw fares. For, the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) is set to launch its first bus fleet in October.

The swanky new buses, 50 of which will first run on the Navghar-Manickpur Road route, will in due time expand to cover the entire Vasai-Virar region using its full capacity of 380 buses. Apart from bringing relief to the thousands staying at places far from the railway station and in villages, the bus service will give special concessions to students and senior citizens.

“The buses take their color from students, who are represented by the yellow while the green represents the greenery of the Vasai region, the area they will ply in,” said Bharat Gupta, Sabhapati Prabhag Samiti, Ward-D, VVMC. To be run and maintained by the Mumbai-based Bhagirath Corporation Pvt Ltd, which will dispense salaries of the conductors and drivers employed in their buses. Also, the firm will pay VVMC an annual revenue per bus.

Stating that “the demand for a bus service had gained momentum due to the sharp rise in commuters in the region, VVMC Mayor Rajeev Patil said, the bus service will be provided to people at cheap rates. “While initially, contractors will run the service, in the future we will undertake all its operations,” he added.