Delhi CM flags off city’s first e-bus, 300 more by April 2023

Launching the bus service, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Delhi government aims to procure at least 2,000 electric buses in the next few years, and termed it the beginning of a new era in public transport.

The Delhi government on Monday pressed into service its first ever electric public transport bus that will run on a designated circular route, E-44, from the Indraprastha Depot and covering central and south Delhi locations.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and transport minister Kailash Gahlot inspect the DTC electric bus, at Indraprastha depot on Monday. (Raj K Raj/HT)

Launching the bus service, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Delhi government aims to procure at least 2,000 electric buses in the next few years, and termed it the beginning of a new era in public transport. By April next year, the city will have at least 300 more e-buses, the government said.

“Today, the Delhi government has dedicated the state’s first electric bus to the public. This marks the beginning of a new era in the transport sector of Delhi. Now, we will see a revolution where as and when older buses go of service, new electric buses will be onboarded. This is a very important step in combating the problem of pollution. This is a zero emission bus and there’s barely any noise,” Kejriwal said while inspecting the bus at the Indraprastha (IP) Depot.

Delhi CM flags off city’s first e-bus, 300 more by April 2023

In July 2018, the Delhi government first announced that it would induct 1,000 electric buses into the city bus fleet, after the Delhi cabinet approved the scheme. The government then claimed that it would be the first state to roll out e-buses on such a large scale. Three and a half years later, cities such as Pune, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata already have functional e-buses, while Delhi kickstarted its first e-bus on Monday.

This e-bus will be operated by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) on route number E-44, which has been designed as a “circular bus service” -- starting from IP Depot via ITO, AGCR, Tilak Marg, Mandi House, Barakhamba Road, Connaught Place, Janpath, Rajesh Pilot Marg, Prithviraj Road, Aurobindo Marg, AIIMS, Ring Road, South Extension, Ashram, Bhogal, Jangpura, India Gate, Delhi high court, Pragati Maidan and back to IP Depot. The service will be available between 5.30am and 8.20pm.

Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot said this is also the first time that DTC has managed to procure a bus since 2011. On July 26 last year, HT first reported how the entire fleet of 3,760 buses run by DTC was officially declared “overage”, a first in the history of the state transport utility, which was set up in 1971. To meet the demand of public transport in the city, the DTC had to seek special permission from the state transport authority to allow all its buses to operate till the age of 15 years instead of 12, which is the usual norm.

Delhi now has about 6,900 buses which is also the highest number of buses the city has ever had. Talking about the e-buses that will start coming in the city, Gahlot said, “The bus can be charged within one to one and a half hours on a fast charger. It can run for a minimum of 120 kilometres in one charge. All our depots are being made electric charging friendly.”

The e-buses will have kneeling ramps for the disabled and elderly passengers, and special pink seats for women. Each bus will be equipped with CCTV cameras, connected to a two-way Central Command and Control Centre (CCC) at Kashmere Gate,10 panic buttons and a hooter.