With the fast charger, the e-bus can be charged in one to one and a half hours. He said that it can run at least 120 kms on a single charge and the depot is being equipped with charging stations.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday flagged off Delhi Transport Corporation’s first electric bus and said 300 more such buses would soon join public transport in the city.
Describing the flag hoisting in the national capital as the beginning of an era of eco-friendly public transport system, the Delhi Chief Minister said that the government will procure 2000 electric buses in the coming years.
Since 2011, not a single new bus was procured by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), he said at the flag hoisting ceremony at the Indraprastha (IP) depot here.
“Now we will see a revolution so that when the old buses are taken out of service, new electric buses will be included. Today the first e-bus is being sent on the roads. By April, we will see 300 electric buses plying on the roads of Delhi.”
Kejriwal said this is the first time since 2011 that a new bus has been purchased for DTC, which people used to call “false”, which has now been done away with.
AAP Convenor, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot and senior officials of the Transport Department also participated in the havan organized on the occasion.
With the fast charger, the e-bus can be charged in one to one and a half hours. He said that it can run at least 120 kms on a single charge and the depot is being equipped with charging stations.
In a tweet, the Chief Minister congratulated the people of Delhi and appealed to them to contribute in the fight against pollution by switching their vehicles to electric.
The Transport Minister said that the Kejriwal government is committed to providing world-class smooth transport service to the people of Delhi apart from fighting the problem of pollution.
The first e-bus in the DTC fleet comes with zero tailpipe emissions. This is the first batch of 300 electric buses to be covered under DTC.
The fleet of 300 e-buses will run from Mundela Kalan (100 buses), Rajghat (50) and Rohini Sector 37 (150 buses) bus depots. These buses have knee ramps for differently-abled passengers and special pink seats for women passengers.
The bus also has CCTV cameras, two-way Central Command and Control Center (CCC) at Kashmere Gate, 10 panic buttons and a hooter in each bus.
The electric bus will operate from DTC’s Indraprastha (IP) depot on route number E-44 from ITO, AGCR, Tilak Marg, Mandi House, Barakhamba Road, Connaught Place, Janpath, Rajesh Pilot Marg, Prithvi Raj Road, Aurobindo Marg. Will terminate at AIIMS, Ring Road, South Extension, Ashram, Bhogal, Jangpura, India Gate, High Court, Pragati Maidan and IP Depot.
The entire public transport bus fleet is available on Google Maps, allowing travelers to plan their journey and track buses at any time. A statement from the Transport Department said that the Delhi government’s OneDelhi app can be used to book tickets in less than a minute.
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