The The Lalit Ashok Hotel, Shri Ramalinga Reddy, Hon’ble Minister for Transport, Govt of Karnataka today inaugurated the Bengaluru Road Show to announce the inaugural edition of ‘Prawaas 2017’, India International Bus and Car Travel Show 2017, which is scheduled to be held from 28th- 30th July, 2017 at CIDCO Exhibition Centre, Vashi, Navi Mumbai, with the theme “Towards Safe, Smart and Sustainable Transport".
Five associations from Bengaluru, Karnataka State Bus Owners Federation, Bangalore Karnataka State Tourism Private Transport-Owners Association, Karnataka State Tourists Bus Operators Association, Karnataka Tourist Motor Cab/Maxi Cab Owners Welfare Association and Bangalore Tourist Taxi Owners Association had organised this meet along with Bus Operators Confederation of India.
‘Prawaas 2017’aims to bring all the stakeholders from the Bus and Car operator associations onto a single platform. The event is expected to see the participation of 3000+ Bus Operators, 150+ Leading Exhibitors, 10000+ Business Visitors and 80+ Expert Speakers. For the first time ever, both public and private bus operators will come together to explore the possibilities of a deeper collaboration involving Public-Private Partnership models.
“It is a known fact that 90 percent of Indians do not own vehicles and are dependent on public transport. The passenger traffic via public transport in the year 2012-13 was 5756 Billion passenger KMs out of which the share of road transport was 85 percent. The share of bus transport was 74 percent or 4260 Billion passenger KMs and privately-operated buses clocked 3688 Billion passenger KMs. This clearly demonstrates that the private sector in bus operations handle over 64 percent of passenger traffic. Public transport demand is expected to grow at 15.4 percent per year over the next 20 years and India is ill equipped presently to cater to this demand. There are many issues that need to be addressed. PRAWAAS 2017 aims to deliberate all issues and arrive at sustainable solutions.” Said Shri Ramalinga Reddy, Hon’ble Minister for Transport, Govt of Karnataka
He further added, “We also focus on giving concession for school children and the handicapped, while SC and ST have it completely free. We carry 1 crore people everyday out of which 1 lakh 15 thousand are employees and their safety is our major focus.”
Mr. Prasanna Patwardhan, President, Bus Operators Confederation of India said, “Bus Operators confederation of India is an Apex body comprising of State level Federations and District level Bus operator Associations. It is envisaged as a Network of Networks. BOCI members consist of six segments; Intercity operators, Intra City Operators, School Bus Operators, Employee Transport Operators, Tour Operators and Maxi Cabs & Taxi Operators. Members of BOCI collectively operate 15 lakh buses on Indian roads which is a pointer towards its significance.”
Bus Operators confederation of India will also be hosting the Prawaas 2017 Excellence Awards in association with redbus which was founded in Bengaluru. Awards will be presented for multiple categories covering all aspects of Bus and Car operator segment.
Mr. K T Rajashekhara, Chairman, Bus Operators Confederation of India said “BOCI will closely work with State Governments and Central Governments simplifying regulations and bring ease of doing business. I am happy to inform that the event has received overwhelming response from the industry giants like Ashok Leyland, HDFC Bank, JTAC, Mahindra Group, MG Group, Redbus, Scania, TVS, Veera and Volvo to mention a few.”
