Delhi Government Approves 1,500 Electric Buses for Public Transport Fleet

The Delhi government on Friday approved the induction of 1,500 low-floor electric buses in its public transportation fleet, an official statement said. The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) also decided to allocate 10 sites to various agencies for setting up Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations and battery swapping stations under Delhi EV Policy 2020, it said.

The city government also gave its approval to run 75 inter-state buses along 11 routes across five states and a Union Territory.

The DTC board also decided to enhance the stipend paid to women during training for engagement to the post of drivers on contract basis from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000 per month with HMV driving licence.

The board had already dropped the condition of holding an HMV driving licence for at least three years for women seeking employment as bus drivers in its fleet, the statement said.

The 10 sites which have been allocated to various service providers for establishing EV charging and battery swapping stations are Ambedkar Nagar Depot, Jal Vihar Terminal, Dilshad Garden Terminal, Karawal Nagar Terminal, Shadipur Depot, Mayapuri Depot, Bindpur Terminal, East Vinod Nagar, Punjabi Bagh, and Rohini Depot-I. Delhi Transco Limited (DTL) has identified four service providers through a competitive bidding process who will soon sign an agreement with DTC for setting up the EV charging/battery swapping stations in these locations. The DTC Board also resolved to provide in-principle approval for procurement of 75 (38 non-AC and 37 AC) CNG standard floor buses for inter-state operations, it said.

These buses will ply on 11 routes across five states (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab) and Chandigarh — between Delhi-Rishikesh, Delhi-Haridwar, Delhi-Dehradun, Delhi-Haldwani, Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Bareilly, Delhi-Lucknow, Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Panipat, and Delhi-Patiala, the statement said.