After China and Santiago, Delhi’s e-bus fleet third biggest in world, says govt

Flagging off the new e-buses at Sarai Kale Khan, Kejriwal said, “Delhi has become the city with the most e-buses in the country, and the third city globally. These buses will help control pollution in Delhi. Previously, Delhi’s roads had Blue Line buses running on diesel and petrol. Then, CNG buses were introduced and now, we have electric buses. Our goal is to gradually replace CNG buses in our fleet with electric buses…”

Until now, the city had 1300 e-buses run by Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) with facilities for women’s safety, GPS, CCTV, panic buttons and other features.

The latest lot comes under the cluster bus services, which is run on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model under the aegis of Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited (DIMTS).

The new buses will operate on different routes from Sukhdev Vihar, Rohini Sector-37 Depot-II, and Burari Bus Depot-I.

The Delhi government is bearing the entire expense of the 350 buses flagged off Wednesday, said a government spokesperson.

The CM posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Along with the Lieutenant Governor, today Delhiites were given the gift of 350 new electric buses. Now, the total number of electric buses in Delhi has reached 1,650, which is the highest in the country and ranks third globally. These electric buses will not only make travel easier for Delhiites but also help in maintaining environmental balance.”

Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said, “Since 2022, 1,300 electric buses have been running on Delhi’s roads…If not for these buses, at least 47,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide would have made its way to the environment.”

Pointing out that the first position in terms of e-buses is held by a city in China, Gahlot said, “In days to come, Delhi’s bus fleet will consist of 10,480 buses, with 80% of them being e-buses. Currently, the figure stands at 22%.”

Further, the AAP government also announced introducing “Mohalla buses” – small-sized buses to connect areas in outer Delhi to the main city. “People will have to wait for sometime as it is taking a while for the process, prototype, testing, and certification phase… I hope that within the next 15 to 20 days, some buses will be dedicated to the public,” Gahlot said about the scheme.