Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot has shared a prototype of an electric bus, which will soon be inducted into the fleet of the DTC soon. The first fleet of 100% electric buses is expected to be rolled out in February.
“Congrats Delhi! After a long wait, prototype of DTC's first 100% Electric bus has reached Delhi! Hon’ble CM @ArvindKejriwal will soon flag off this Electric bus," Gahlot wrote on Twitter.
Here's all you need to know about Delhi's electric buses:
- The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) is procuring 300 e-buses.
- Approximately 3,500 new electric buses will get added to the DTC and Cluster fleet according to the induction plan of the transport department.
- The DTC Board has also approved the induction of 1,245 low-floor buses, including 1,015 electric buses, to augment the ageing fleet of the public transporter in the national capital.
- The low-floor buses will be equipped with hydraulic lifts to enable passengers on a wheelchair to board the bus.
- The buses will be equipped with GPS trackers, panic buttons, and CCTV cameras among other features.
- The e-buses will be added in batches of about 50 every month after the first rollout in February.
- The first prototype of the e-bus is being tested by the state transport department and the vehicle manufacturer JBM Auto Limited.
- With the entry of e-buss in Delhi, the city government will equip bus depots with charging stations.
- DTC is planning to build four 'hybrid' bus depots, which will be a combination of electric and CNG buses. These will be the Subhash Place depot, Rajghat depot, Hasanpur depot, and Bawana.
- Last year in October, transport department had floated tenders for induction of 140 low-floor, air-conditioned electric buses, aiming to strengthen the public transport fleet and check air pollution in the city
At present, Delhi has a fleet of 6,793 buses, of which 3,760 are run by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and 3,033 are operated by the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) Limited through the state transport department.
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