Chennai: Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) has cancelled tenders to procure 1,000 low-floor air-conditioned electric buses and 220 small and micro buses, exclusively for first- and last-mile Metro connectivity.The administrative reasons cited by MTC for cancelling the tender for the 1,000 AC e-buses, said no bidders came forward for the 220 small and micro AC buses.The DMK government floated the tenders in February, but MTC postponed the bid openings multiple times. The state govt having allocated Rs 500 cr to procure 1,000 buses in the latest budget.MTC officials were unavailable for comment. The fate of another tender to procure 300 non-AC small buses is unclear, though MTC has scheduled the bid opening for Friday.MTC currently has a fleet of 4,206 buses, including 755 electric buses — 400 non-AC and 355 AC buses. OHM Global Mobility and Switch Mobility operate the e-bus fleet under the gross-cost contract model. MTC operates 687 routes across Chennai, serving 31.27 lakh passengers.
