Bengaluru To Induct 100 Electric Buses In Transport Fleet Through State Govt's Fund

As Indian states look to incorporate electric buses in their respective transport fleets, a new question perks up for the ideal way to do so. Should the electric buses be leased or should they be bought? Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) now thinks that it is best to go with the latter option.

Sources in the government suggest that the BMTC will soon propose buying 100 electric buses through funds appointed by the state government. The move will follow BMTC¡¯s expression of interest (EOI) for the supply of 1500 e-buses back in March. The deadline for opening the bids, however, had to be postponed due to the model code of conduct.

Hence, BMTC will soon be submitting a proposal to purchase 100 electric buses. As per the source cited by Deccan Herald, the proposal is currently under planning. BMTC aims to understand the ergonomics of the electric buses and so will consider the operation of 100 of these as a trial.

BMTC (Image: Bangalore Mirror)

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The move comes just two months after BMTC lost a central government¡¯s grant worth Rs 80 crore for procuring 80 electric buses. The decision to buy these electric buses instead of leasing them was taken by the Transport Minister DC Thamanna. The officials now plan to regain the central funds through the FAME scheme. For this, they are relying on a reference for the act in FAME scheme¡¯s Phase 2 notification.

As per the notification, the projects sanctioned under FAME scheme will continue to be in operation as per the terms and conditions issued at the time of sanctioning, including the electric buses sanctioned to the state/ city transport authorities.