Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy flagged off the first fleet of electric buses from the Alipiri depot of the Andhra Pradesh State Transport Road Corporation (APSRTC) on the Tirumala ghat road on Tuesday, coinciding with Srivari Brahmotsavams.
Olectra Greentech Limited delivered ten state-of-the-art buses to the APSRTC, as part of an order to supply 100 electric buses under FAME-II scheme. Of the 100 buses, 50 will ply on the Tirumala–Tirupati ghat road, while the rest will ply to Nellore, Kadapa and Madanapalle as inter-city service.
Olectra Greentech Limited will take care of the maintenance of the buses during the contract period of 12 years.
Olectra Greentech Limited Chairman and Managing Director K.V. Pradeep expressed happiness at serving the devotees travelling to Tirumala. He reiterated the company’s commitment to keeping the pollution levels low.
He said the buses could travel around 180 km on a single charge.
Ministers P. Ramachandra Reddy, R.K. Roja, TTD Chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy, APSRTC Chairman A. Mallikarjuna Reddy, Vice-Chairman K. Vijayananda Reddy and Managing Director Dwaraka Tirumala Rao took part in the programme.