With the city set to receive a fleet of 50 new electric buses before August, residents who have been demanding an upgrade for the intra-city bus service can breathe a little easier.
Notably, residents have long been demanding service on certain routes including those connecting Chandigarh railway station, PGIMER, government hospitals in Sectors 16 and 32 in Chandigarh and the Punjab and Haryana high court.
In March 2020, as many as 22 inter-city mini buses had been flagged off by the local legislator Gian Chand Gupta at the city bus stand in Sector 5. Then, in 2021, the municipal corporation (MC) roped in 10 more buses for local routes.
Speaking of the new additions, Haryana Roadways general manager Ashok Kaushik, meanwhile, said, “We are going to introduce 50 electric buses in Panchkula. These will be launched before August. A tender has been floated, a company has been short-listed. The work is at the last stages and once the prototype is cleared, the buses will ply on the roads.”
The new buses include 32-seater and 45-seater variants. Their charging varies between 45 minutes and one hour. The company will set up charging stations, while the civic body will be responsible for setting up proper bus shelters wherein boards bearing routes and bus timings will be put up.
{{/usCountry}}The new buses include 32-seater and 45-seater variants. Their charging varies between 45 minutes and one hour. The company will set up charging stations, while the civic body will be responsible for setting up proper bus shelters wherein boards bearing routes and bus timings will be put up.
{{/usCountry}}Once charged, the electronic buses can cover the distance of 200 to 220 km.
Speaking of the routes, Kaushik said, “The new special routes will be planned, wherein the focus will be on improving connectivity of the city to Chandigarh, Zirakpur and a few villages.”
“We are trying our best to bring adequate city bus service to the city. With the additional fleet, better conveyance will be available to people. Our purpose is to provide better service to people, so that they start using public transport,” he added.
Citizens welfare association president SK Nayar, meanwhile, said, “We need local-ring-bus-service, which connects the entire Panchkula from one sector to another sector. We have been demanding this basic facility for decades now.”