Delhi: Transport Department to procure 2,000 CNG buses,electric buses

New Delhi: Delhi’s Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot has officially announced on Friday that the state capital will get around 2000 CNG buses, along with electric buses which have been finalized by Delhi government’s transport department.
The Delhi government has finalized 2,000 non-AC buses to be operated in the capital city and has also decided to induct standard electric buses that would link residential areas with Delhi Metro station within a radius of 5km.
A Government official source said, “The government was not gung-ho over plans to scale up the electric plans, but now that the chief minister has given a go-ahead in the meeting held on Wednesday, clear directions have been given to procure a fleet of electric buses as big as feasible.”
The official added, “The capital cost of electric buses is very high and we have to find a way to cover the gap of cost between electric and CNG buses. The government will provide the capital subsidy for the procurement of buses initially. The other parameters would have to be decided.”
Transport Minister Gahlot said that Notice inviting tenders for the cluster scheme of the CNG buses is likely to be issued by November 30 and that the department has already been instructed to complete the roll out of the acquired buses with in 10 months.
He added that DTC had already published the expression of interest for appointment of a bid management consultant and following its appointment, will issue the tender for 1,000 buses. Gahlot said the target is to have these buses on the roads within a year from now.