State Transport to launch 50 e-buses

PUNE: Adopting the environment-friendly measure, Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) is all set to start electric buses from Pune to various destinations in the State in coming months. The e-buses will ply from Pune to Solapur, Nashik, Kolhapur and Aurangabad.

A total of 50 e-buses will operate on these four routes once the charging stations are installed at all these divisions. The decision came after a meeting was held at Pune MSRTC divisional office on Monday. The meeting was attended by Pune Divisional Controller Yamini Joshi and divisional controllers from Nashik, Aurangabad, Solapur and Kolhapur. 

The officials from the engineering department were also present. The roadmap was prepared in the meeting regarding the running of the buses and installing the charging points.

“The meeting was held on Monday. The decision was taken to install a charging point at Swargate depot for e-buses. Similarly, four charging points will be installed at Solapur, Kolhapur, Nashik and Aurangabad (one at each). We will float tender in a few days. The work of installation of charging points will be completed within three months,” said Yamini Joshi, Divisional Controller of Pune MSRTC.

The e-buses will be introduced by reducing the frequency of Shiv Shahi buses as the features of the two services - luxury, air-conditioned -- are similar. The e-bus has been named ‘Shivai’.

Last year, the MSRTC had issued a tender and awarded the contract to a private party to supply e-buses. 

The State Transport official informed that these buses will operate within a radius of 250 km and will be fully air-conditioned. MSRTC, which serves the entire state, owns around 20,000 diesel buses in the present day.

These buses will be provided to depots located in cities such as Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Kolhapur and Mumbai in the first phase. Work on setting up the charging stations at these locations will soon commence, officials said.

E-BUSES TO PLY WITHIN THE RADIUS OF 250 KM
The State Transport official informed that these buses will operate within a radius of 250 km and will be fully air-conditioned. MSRTC, which serves the entire state, owns around 20,000 diesel buses in the present day.