This decision, meant to pacify the MSRTC which said it hadn't been consulted over the introduction of maxicabs, was announced by state transport minister Gajanan Kirtikar at a meeting on Wednesday. He assured state transport authorities that a final decision on routes would be taken only in concurrence with the MSRTC.

``This decision puts things in our favour,'' Chandrakant Vaidya, Vice Chairman of the MSRTC told Express Newsline. ``If we leave loss making routes to maxicabs, we can redeploy some 5000 more buses on the highways.''

Maxicabs could be assigned routes in traditional loss-making sectors of the MSRTC, `C' routes in ST parlance. A and B are the break-even or minor profit making routes, he said.

The ST today runs city transport services in 28 towns and citiesin Maharashtra, where it loses nearly Rs 90 crore annually. These heavy loss making routes include Kalyan, Dombivli, Nashik, Amravati, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Nanded, Sangli, Miraj, Satara, Ratnagiri, Dhule, Jalgaon and Akola.

These services are run by the BEST in Mumbai. ``But since it is a loss making operation, none of the civic bodies in these towns and cities are willing to start bus services,'' Vaidya said. Attempts to persuade these corporations to start city services, even by providing old ST buses, had failed, Vaidya disclosed.

The ST has a fleet of 16,500 buses. However, even these are insufficient. Vaidya said that one of the major reasons for irregular services had been the shortage of buses, he said. With maxicabs in these towns and buses on highways, the ST could directly compete with the illegal private bus operators who carry some 25 to 30 lakh passengers daily. This eats into the ST's load of nearly 75 lakh daily passengers.

The 12-seat maxicabs will also be allowed on short routes fromrailway stations in rural areas to villages, added Vaidya.