In a major step towards the eco-friendly public transport system, 100 electric buses have been allocated to the city in the first phase and 350 more would be added to the fleet of Andhra Pradesh State Transport Corporation (APSRTC) subsequently.
“The APSRTC will procure 1,000 electric buses for the entire State. The tender process is on. The procurement could take about three to four months,” RTC (Visakhapatnam) Regional Manager M.Y. Danam said here on Thursday.
Referring to the charging points for the electric buses, he said that the successful bidder would set up such facilities at various places, in consultation with the corporation. “The first charging station will be set up at the Waltair depot,” Mr. Danam said.
According to the officials, the electric buses would not only help check pollution but also result in cutting down the running cost by more than 50 %.
Less expenditure
“The cost of operating a diesel bus works out to ₹14 per km, while the same for an electric bus is ₹6 per km at best. The electric bus manufacturer will impart training to the RTC drivers in the operation of the electric buses,” Mr. Danam explained.
When his attention was drawn to the withdrawal of city services in some routes on the termination of ‘hired buses’ and the difficulties being faced by the commuters, the Regional Manager said that fresh tenders had been called for 50 ‘hired buses’, but bidders evinced interested for 10 buses only.
Around 50 additional buses are needed to augment the existing fleet. Since, the electric bus tender process is on, the buses would make up for the shortage. Some electric buses allocated to the city would be deployed in the rural areas, when all the 450 buses are received, he said.
Central subsidy
“In the first phase, 350 buses will be given to Andhra Pradesh under the FAME II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India) initiative of the Centre. “The Union government will provide subsidy for the first 350 buses, while the rest 650 will be procured by the State government on its own,” Deputy Chief Traffic Manager (Urban) M. Sudhabindu said.
