Delhi to induct 100 more e-buses in October

Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot said that the government is trying to induct 1,900 e-buses by the end of the year

Delhi is set to add 100 electric buses to its public transport fleet this month, taking the number of government e-buses to 900, officials aware of the matter said on Monday.

The Delhi government seeks to increase the strength of its bus fleet to 11,000 and to ensure that 80% of all public buses are electric by 2025-26 as part of its wider plan to cut down pollution levels. (HT Archive)

Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said, “Final preparations and formalities for the induction of 100 buses are on. The e-buses will be inducted sometime in October… By the end of the year, we are trying to induct 1,900 e-buses. Delhi already has the largest fleet of e-buses in the country. In the last couple of years, the Delhi government has added e-buses at a large scale which is one of the important steps to check air pollution.”

A transport department official said, “The 100 new e-buses have already arrived in the Capital and are in the final phase of induction.”

Last month, lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged off 400 e-buses from the Rohini bus depot.

“The performance of the 400 e-buses in the last one month has been satisfactory. The buses have been performing as per the expectations of the department, and besides making their contributions towards decarbonising the DTC fleet, they are also offering greater convenience to bus users,” the official said.

Vehicular emissions contributed around 9% of the PM10 load and around 20% of the PM2.5 concentration in Delhi, according to a 2016 Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur study.

When inhaled, particulate matter, or PM, can cause serious respiratory problems.

The Delhi government seeks to increase the strength of its bus fleet to 11,000 and to ensure that 80% of all public buses are electric by 2025-26 as part of its wider plan to cut down pollution levels.