In a bid to combat air pollution in the national capital, the Delhi government will be adding 100 new electric buses in March. The national capital already rolled out its first electric bus in January this year. According to a report in Hindustan Times, Livemint's sister publication, there will be 200 more e-buses will be added by mid-May which will take up the electric bus fleet to 300.
"In the first week of March, around 50 e-buses are expected to arrive. Overall, in March, 100 of the 300 e-buses will arrive. The rest will arrive in batches till mid-May," the daily quoted an official.
Apart from 300 electric buses of the Delhi Transport Corporation, another 330 e-buss will be added by the end of this year. An official said that they are preparing the tender for the 330 electric buses.
To increase the share of zero-emission vehicles in public transport to over 50%, all the existing bus depots are being upgraded with EV charging infrastructure.
On January 17, Delhi unveiled its first electric bus, manufactured by JBM Auto Limited. The Delhi transport department in October last year floated tenders for induction of 140 low-floor, air-conditioned electric buses.
In December last year, Karnataka launched its first-ever electric bus for public transportation. Last year, JBM supplied 90 and 15 electric buses in Ahmedabad and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, respectively.
