Nagpur: Prakash Ambitkar and 9 other MLAs raised the contentious issue of free wi-fi facility in the loss-making MSRTC buses.
The Transport Minister Diwakar Raote, in written reply, informed the House that the total revenue of MSRTC in the year 2015-16 stood at Rs 7284.48 crore and on the other hand, the expenditure was to the tune of Rs 7467.24 crore. The buses are purchased according to the requirement of MSRTC and the availability of funds.
The government has decided to purchase latest 500 AC buses and deploy them in the fleet of State Transport Corporation. For providing facility of free wi-fi to passengers of MSRTC buses, the contract has been given to M/s Yantra Media Solutions. This company will provide entertainment-oriented facility to bus passengers during travel. The MSRCT will not incur any expenditure on this count.
Rather the company will give the ST an amount of Rs 1.05 crore. Similarly, a fixed percentage of profits earned by the company towards advertisements will also be received by the MSRTC. Currently, the free wi-fi facility is not in service due to some technical snag which the company is looking into.
