In a bid to bolster connectivity with neighbouring states and public transport facilities, the Chandigarh administration pressed into service 60 air-conditioned electric buses. Chandigarh Administrator Banwarilal Purohit on Monday flagged off 60 air-conditioned electric buses, out of which 40 will ply within the city and the remaining 20 will be used on long routes, The Indian Express reported.
20 buses chosen for inter-state operations were delivered to Chandigarh as part of an agreement signed in March 2022 with M/s Tata Motors, said Purohit. According to IE, the buses will run from ISBT-43 and ISBT-17 to Pathankot, Batala, Fatehabad, Amritsar, Abohar, Katra, Manali, Ludhiana, Shimla, Jaipur, Jhajjar and Haridwar.
UT officials said that the new air-conditioned buses follow the latest emission standards, BS-VI, and are equipped with the latest electronically controlled diesel engines.
According to the report, 40 intra-city buses, which were flagged off on Monday, were handed over to Chandigarh under a deal inked with M/s Volvo Eicher in February 2022. Out of them, the first fleet of five buses was flagged off by the Union Home Minister on July 30 this year, which have already been used for commercial operations. They will move on routes from New Maloya Colony to Ram Darbar and Manimajra, ISBT-43 to Manimajra and Behlana, and Maloya to Mansa Devi.
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Under the Phase-II of the FAME India Scheme, the ruling dispensation at the Centre had sanctioned as many as 80 electric buses for Union Territory Chandigarh. The first fleet of 40 buses had been launched last year, which are commercially operated since November, 2021.
According to the data published by The Indian Express, 50 lakh passengers travelled by electric buses that had been introduced in Chandigarh last year, which led to the saving of 4.28 lakh litres of diesel.
As per the data, the electric buses in Chandigarh together have covered around 21.50 lakh kilometres and diesel was saved to the tune of 4.28 lakh litres till September this year.
Shying away from diesel vehicles, approximately 15,500 passengers in Chandigarh commute by electric buses on a daily basis that were flagged off in September last year.
The transport department is mulling to replace all diesel buses in the Tricity with electric ones by 2027-2028.
