Decks have been cleared for the induction of 1,500 electric buses in the Capital by the end of this year.
As reported by The Hindu on January 19, the Delhi government had pinned its hopes on the Union government’s ‘Grand Challenge’ scheme, for the augmentation of the Capital’s electric bus infrastructure.
The Delhi government had made an ambitious pitch for 1,500 electric buses under the scheme, in which around 3,500 buses will be procured by the Government of India for allotment to State transport undertakings of nine mega cities (cities with a population of over 10 lakh) in the country.
The government had hoped to get at least 1,000 of the 1,500 buses it had requested. However, the Capital has been allotted the full quota of 1,500 vehicles, according to sources.
With 7,081 buses in its fleet at the moment, the planned induction of more vehicles, in several phases over the coming months, will take the number of public buses beyond 7,300 in spite of the replacement of the 450 ageing vehicles on the DTC’s fleet.
The fleet was last at its strongest, with 6,342 vehicles, in the year 2010. According to a senior official, the Delhi government’s target is to have 2,000 electric buses as part of its public transportation fleet.
“There are certain procedural modalities which will be completed over the coming few months. An agreement with the company procuring these vehicles for the country will be signed over the coming days followed by a nod from the DTC Board and Delhi Cabinet,” said a senior government official.
“Following these, the fleet of E-buses, in batches, will begin rolling out towards the end of the year,” the official added. According to the official, as many as 1,400 buses are expected to be rolled out in several batches throughout 2022.
Published - April 26, 2022 10:36 pm IST
