The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation on Tuesday invited bids for hiring 500 ordinary buses as well as conversion of diesel buses into ones that run on Liquefied Natural Gas, an official said.

The official said it was the first time the state undertaking was hiring ordinary buses, which would be taken on the wet lease model, with the vehicle maintenance and driver expenses being borne by the contractor. Shekhar Channe, vice chairperson and managing director of MSRTC, told PTI the aim was to bring down the operating cost of buses, especially as operations had been severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.