The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) on Thursday unveiled the first of 90 electric buses that will be operated as feeder services to Namma Metro.
The nine-metre-long non-AC buses with 33 passenger seats have been leased on a gross cost contract model. Around 15 of these buses will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister in November, said Transport Minister B. Sriramulu during the unveiling of the bus. The 90 buses will run on a financial assistance of ₹50 crore under the Bengaluru Smart City project.
If all goes according to plan, over the next three years, Bengaluru will have a fleet of 1,500 electric buses.
Rajender Kumar Kataria, Principal Secretary, Transport Department, said the city would participate in the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric-vehicles (FAME) scheme challenge of the Union government and requisition 1,500 e-buses, which would be inducted into the BMTC’s fleet in a phased manner.
This includes the 90 buses as part of the first phase, followed by an additional 300 in the next phase. The BMTC plans to add another 600 buses in each of the two successive years. “This, when completed, will make nearly 40% of our fleet in the city electric,” Mr. Kataria added.
Reducing pollution
Mr. Sriramulu said they would speed up the process for procuring the next 300 e-buses. He also announced that the BMTC would buy 643 BS-VI buses soon. “The procurement of e-buses and BS-VI buses put together will contribute significantly to reducing pollution,” he said.
The e-buses will be operated on a gross cost contract model wherein the BMTC will pay ₹51.67/km for an assured 180 km per day for a period of 10 years to the firm that leases these buses. It will also provide charging facilities. In return, the BMTC will take all revenue earned on these trips.
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