Ghaziabad transport body to cut e-bus fares, boost ridership

The new rate structure will initially be introduced on the Kaushambi-Muradnagar route and thereafter it will be introduced on other routes, officials said

The board of Ghaziabad City Transport Services Limited (GCTSL), which is overseeing the operation of the electric-bus service project, has decided to reduce the fares of these buses. The officials said that the reduced rates will boost ridership and will be possibly introduced in the first week of April.

An electric bus seen on Kaushambi to Muradnagar route in Ghaziabad. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Ghaziabad city is one of the seven cities in Uttar Pradesh, which have been provided with e-buses. The city, under phase 1 will receive 25 buses of which 21 have already arrived and 15 of these are operational. The minimum and maximum fare ranges from ₹10 to ₹40 for different routes.

“The board members of the special purpose vehicle (SPV) under the aegis of the GCTSL during its committee meeting on March 28 has decided to reduce the rates. The proposed fare structure is ₹5-37 and more reduction has been proposed for shorter distances. This will the pave the way for more ridership and benefit passengers,” said AK Singh, managing director of SPV and regional manager of UP State Road Transport Corporation.

“The SPV during its meeting which was headed by commissioner (Meerut), who is the chairperson of SPV, has in-principle agreed to reduce rates. The rates will be introduced once the minutes get signed. The present load factor (ridership) for the operational e-buses is over 50%. With the reduced rates, we are expecting ridership to increase further,” Singh added.

The new rate structure will initially be introduced on the Kaushambi-Muradnagar route and thereafter it will be introduced on other routes, officials said.

In August 2019, the department of heavy industries approved 5,595 e-buses to 64 cities, state governments and state transport undertakings for intra and inter-city operations in a bid to reduce carbon emission. The state of UP got 600 of e-buses of which 50 were for Ghaziabad.

In October last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off 75 buses under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) for seven cities, including Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Jhansi and Ghaziabad.

For the operation of the e-buses, officials have identified four major routes which will cover a distance of about 88 kilometres per trip.

The first route spanning 33 kilometres (one way) will connect Anand Vihar to Muradnagar while the second route of 20 kilometres will connect Anand Vihar to ALT Centre in Raj Nagar. Another 20-kilometre route will connect Dilshad Garden to Govindpuram (extended up to Dasna on the National Highway-9) while the fourth route of 15 kilometres will link different points from Tila Morh to the New Bus Stand.

The municipal corporation has already allotted 25,000 square metres of land at Akbarpur-Behrampur near Vijay Nagar where a maintenance depot has come up for the e-buses.