Delhi to get 1,000 low-floor electric buses

The Delhi on Thursday approved the engagement of 1,000 low-floor environment-friendly electric buses.

The cabinet presided by Chief Minister Arbind Kejriwal appointed Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) as a Project Consultant for this project.

The cabinet approval to the Transport Department's proposal will help in modernizing Delhi's transport sector and substantially reducing air pollution.

DIMTS has been asked to submit its report within three months.

The Transport Department had sought cabinet's in-principle approval to engage 1,000 pure low floor air-conditioned electric buses, in the Gross Cost Model of contracting under the Cluster scheme so that further process of hiring Project Consultant for the technical detailing and Bid Process Management can be carried out.

The Department will construct bus depots at six locations for these 1000 electric buses - East Vinod Nagar, Bawana Sector 5, Burari, Rohini Sector 37, Revla Khanpur and Narela. Electric power for charging of electric buses and the housing of requisite numbers of charging units shall be the responsibility of the Concessionaire(s), who will arrange the infrastructure at their own cost, in consultation with DISCOMs.

Transport Department has also been directed to explore the possibility of Hydrogen buses as suggested by the Supreme Court.

Delhi government is of the view that air pollution has emerged as a significant issue risking the health and well-being of residents in cities across India and especially Delhi. In this scenario, Delhi government was the first in India to bring out a Green Budget for 2018-19, identifying 26 short and long-term measures to combat air pollution in Delhi, including electric buses.

The government's decision to engage pure electric buses in Delhi will go a long way in reducing overall vehicular emissions in Delhi.

Currently, pure electric buses are operating in over 200 cities in 48 countries worldwide but the major share (about 98%) is in China.

The production of the electric buses had been slow traditionally but it has picked up substantially in the last three years with China itself procuring 12,760 e-buses in 2014, 94,260 e-buses in 2015 and 115,700 e-buses in 2016.

The top five countries, other than China, having pure electric buses are United Kingdom (191), German (176), Netherlands(296), Lithuania(192) and Austria(164).