The list of Indian cities ready to incorporate electric buses in their transport fleet is growing rapidly, as the Odisha government has recently confirmed similar plans for the state. In an attempt to bring down the emissions from the vehicles plying in the state transport fleet, the state transport corporation will soon be using electric buses in some of the routes in the first phase.?
Science & Technology Minister Ashok Chandra Panda?recently told the assembly about the state government¡¯s plans. As per him, Odisha government aims to introduce electric buses in the temple town of Puri first, along with the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. These routes will collectively form the first phase of electrification of state¡¯s transportation.?
"We are planning to phase out the conventional transport system through the electric buses. These new electric buses will operate within 100 km radius covering Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri," Panda told the assembly.
(Representative Image: BCCL)
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For this, the state will soon be signing a Memorandum of Understanding as well. Having a look at other cities following this plan hints that the MoU will require a lease model wherein the bidder will be required to operate the electric buses, which includes handling the expense of vehicle maintenance, charging infrastructure, operational cost as well as the maintenance of the staff. They can then charge the government one per km basis, an amount that will also be used to select the appropriate bidder.?
Recently, Bengaluru announced similar plans for BMTC, aiming at converting the entire bus fleet of the state transport corporation to an electric one by 2030. A total number of 1500 electric buses will be inducted under this plan, starting with the procurement of 500 e-buses (100 AC and 400 non-AC) within a year¡¯s time.