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Maha to run public transport on alternative fuel: Fadnavis
Maharashtra has decided to shift all public transport to alternative fuel, and Pune is at the forefront of this transformation, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday
PUNE: The government of Maharashtra has decided to shift all public transport to alternative fuel, and Pune is at the forefront of this transformation, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday. “Chief minister Eknath Shinde and I have decided to move the entire public transport system to alternative fuel in the coming years. The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) is leading the change with 650 buses in its fleet being electric buses, which implies that 30% of PMPML transportation is using alternative fuel,” Fadnavis said. He was speaking at PMPML’s launch of an electric bus (e-bus) depot at Pune station and the addition of 90 e-buses to its fleet. Chief minister Shinde attended the event virtually while union heavy minister Mahendranath Pande, too, was present on the occasion.
Shinde said, “The Maharashtra government is committed to solving Pune city’s traffic issues. Improvement of public transportation, speeding-up of metro work, and completion of flyover works in Pune is the government’s priority. E-buses are one step in this plan which are giving a comfortable mode of transport to citizens.”
Meanwhile, Fadnavis instructed the PMPML and both the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations (PMC and PCMC, respectively) that purchasing e-buses is not enough. The focus now is solar energy and it is necessary that all e-buses in the city run on power generated from solar energy. “In the year 2019, I asked the PMPML to purchase e-buses. I also instructed the PMPML to run air-conditioned e-buses at the same rates without increasing fares. The total running of these e-buses in the city is more than 2 crore km which means that citizens have accepted e-buses in the city,” Fadnavis said.
Union minister Pande appreciated the PMPML for leading in e-buses. He said that the central government is promoting alternative fuel and the PMPML is leading on this front. The 90 e-buses that were added to the PMPML fleet on Friday had arrived three months ago but were lying at the Nigdi depot as the PMPML was unable to get guests for the launch ceremony.
