Demand for electric buses hits roadblock: Manish Sisodia lashes out at Centre

Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. Tashi Tobgyal

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia Thursday lashed out at the Centre for not considering the Delhi government’s appeal for financial assistance to procure electric buses. “I had personally requested a special package for 2,000 electric buses for Delhi, which could have played a major role in combating air pollution. Unfortunately, the central government does not care for Delhi,” he said.

The air action plan, which the Delhi government presented to L-G Anil Baijal, focused not just on procuring 2,000 buses but also incentivising electronic vehicles for public transport. The Delhi government had experimented with a pilot project for electric buses in 2016. As per minutes of a May 5, 2016, DTC meeting, the bus covered up to 280 km per day “on one-time battery charging for about five hours in a night shift”. “The commuter response to this bus is good,” the minutes state.

The problem, though, was the cost. Currently, the government is utilising Rs 1,500 crore, which it had collected as environmental cess, to purchase 500 electric buses. Sources said this is part of a short-term plan this year, under which two types of low-floor AC buses will be procured. These include midi buses (Rs 1.6 crore) and larger buses (Rs 2.6 crore).

An official said, “These buses are more expensive than CNG buses, but maintenance cost is lower. It’s the future of public transport in Delhi, based on more sustainable forms of fuel.” The problem, officials said, is that a revamp of Delhi’s bus fleet requires far more than the 500 electric and 2,000 CNG buses it is currently acquiring. Delhi has a total requirement of 11,000 buses. Moreover, of the DTC’s current fleet of buses, 21% or 830 buses are deemed “over-aged” and need to be withdrawn this year.