Gujarat to run battery operated buses between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar

Project will be handled by GPCL in association with GSRTC

Gujarat government is planning to run battery operated buses between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar for public transport under Gujarat State Electric Vehicle (GSEV). The project will be handled by Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL) in association with Gujarat State Transport Corporation (GSRTC), the state government announced on Monday.

As part of the GSEV project, the state government has launched six battery operated vehicles to ply within secretariat areas in Gandhinagar. Under this project a 50 kilowatts solar power based charging station has been setup within the secretariat.

"Gujarat government has planned to use maximum of non-conventional power to control global warming and pollution. As part of it, the state has launched GSEV project. First phase of the project has completed successful and in second phase we are planning to run buses between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar for public transport," said Saurabh Patel, state energy minister, Gujarat government.

Solar powered charging stations will set up at the central bus station in Gandhinagar for charging the electric buses wherein each bus will have a seating capacity of 30-35 persons.

"It is a pilot project and preliminary preparations of phase II has been started by GPCL," Patel said.

Visitors can use these battery operated vehicles free of cost to travel anywhere within secretariat area in Gandhinagar. Under the GSEV project nearly 164,000 units of solar power will be generated and used every year which is likely to and save about 20,000 litres of petrol, the government stated, leading to reduction of about 60 per cent of carbon dioxide annually.