By 2030, 70% of Prayagraj public transport to be electricity-driven - Hindustan Times
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By 2030, 70% of Prayagraj public transport to be electricity-driven

PRAYAGRAJ | By
Sep 13, 2019 07:06 AM IST

The shift in focus on electric vehicles in state will not only cut down on air pollution drastically but also reduce dependency on fossil fuels.

Prayagraj has been identified as one of the 10 cities for a pilot project of Multi-Modal Electric Public Transport, according to the recently released Uttar Pradesh Electric Vehicle Manufacturing and Mobility Policy, 2019.

To facilitate the move, 200,000 electric charging stations will be set up across the state by 2024 and a million electric vehicles, including 1,000 buses, will be on the road by then.(HT image)
To facilitate the move, 200,000 electric charging stations will be set up across the state by 2024 and a million electric vehicles, including 1,000 buses, will be on the road by then.(HT image)

The earmarking of 10 cities of state – Prayagraj, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Kanpur, Mathura, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Agra and Noida – under the Centre’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) scheme, is aimed at converting 70% of the public transport in these cities to electric mode by the end of 2030.

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The shift in focus on electric vehicles in state will not only cut down on air pollution drastically but also reduce dependency on fossil fuels.

To facilitate the move, 200,000 electric charging stations will be set up across the state by 2024 and a million electric vehicles, including 1,000 buses, will be on the road by then.

Talking over phone from Lucknow, joint director, urban development, Ajit Singh said 14 districts of the state will receive 700 electric buses to be included in the existing fleet of the UPSRTC buses. Of these, 50 buses each will be received by Prayagraj, Mathura-Vrindavan, Varanasi, Ghaziabad and Meerut, while 100 buses each have been allocated to Agra, Kanpur and Lucknow. Similarly, 25 electric buses each will go to six districts including Moradabad, Shahjahanpur, Bareilly, Aligarh, Jhansi and Gorakhpur, he added.

According to Singh, the cost of one electric bus of 35 to 41-seat capacity, was roughly around Rs 1.2 crore to Rs 1.4 crore and these buses will start plying in the districts selected in the next nine months to a year, as it was a minimum time period required for setting up infrastructure for the new facility.

“Of the 14 districts, the central government will provide subsidy to 11 districts: Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Moradabad, Bareilly, Aligarh and Jhansi. The state government will provide subsidy in three districts of Gorakhpur, Shahjahanpur and Mathura,” he said.

Further, UPSRTC Prayagraj regional manager Hashwardhan said Prayagraj will receive the 50 electric buses allotted to it around mid-2020.

According to the new electric vehicle policy , the cost of running of EVs was significantly low in comparison to that of vehicles run on fossil fuels. The EV running cost was Rs 1 per km while that of petrol vehicles was around Rs 5.5 per km.

Further, the policy also aims to attract investments of over Rs 40,000 crore in the next five years across the electric mobility ecosystem with an employment potential for 50,000 people.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Kenneth John is a Principal Correspondent based in Allahabad. He writes on wide ranging issues including education, women and child welfare, infrastructure development, environment, human rights, poverty and rural development.

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