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New e-buses lay in disuse at Ghaziabad depot
Officials said they received 38 buses from the state government about one-and-half months ago, and only four of these have been deployed on the Ghaziabad-Noida-Mathura route
Ghaziabad: About 34 new electric-buses provided to Ghaziabad for intercity travel are yet to be deployed as the charging infrastructure across routes and at the UP State Road Transport Corporation’s (UPSRTC) Sahibabad station still remains to be set up, officials said.
Officials said they received 38 buses from the state government about one-and-half months ago, and only four of these have been deployed on the Ghaziabad-Noida-Mathura route.
“The rest of the buses are still stationed at the Sahibabad depot, as the seven charging points are under construction and likely to be ready in the next one month. The buses are to operate in a range of about 200kms and will also require charging infrastructure midway. So, facilities are also being developed in cities like Muzaffarnagar, Kasganj, Aligarh, Agra, and others. These facilities will also be ready in a month,” said Rajesh Kumar, assistant regional manager, UPSRTC, Sahibabad.
The new buses will have a seating capacity of 52 passengers. Currently, Ghaziabad’s Sahibabad station operates 155 diesel buses, and now also houses these 38 e-buses, officials added.
Kumar added: “At the midway charging points, we plan a 30-minute halt for charging the buses. These charging points will come up at places with facilities like dhabas, restaurants, shops, etc, in the vicinity.”
Kesri Nandan Chaudhary, UPSRTC’s regional manager, could not be reached for comments.
According to official estimates, Ghaziabad’s UPSRTC region—comprising cities like Hapur, Khurja, and Bulandshahr—operates about 906 buses, of which 350-400 buses are BS-VI compliant or CNG-operated.
Ghaziabad also operates 50 low-floor AC e-buses for intra-city travel, which operate as part of a special purpose vehicle — Ghaziabad City Transport Services Limited (GCTSL).
