Bhopal(Madhya Pradesh): A joint effort by government and private players has paved the way for a green transportation network in the state capital.
The gross CO2 emission reduced with the launch of the e-buses and CNG buses would be around 20 lakh tones, estimated the research team of the Department of Heavy Industries (DHI).
Bhopal City Link Limited (BCLL) has decided to launch 300 CNG buses in the city out of which seven have already started operations as pilot project.
A total of 100 buses will start operations by the end of June and 300 by the end of 2022, said commissioner of Bhopal Municipal Corporation KVS Choudhary.
This will result in a 60% reduction in environmental pollution and 40% in costs of operations, he said.
The Hyderabad-based company Incubate SoftTech Private Limited will control the operations of the buses which have been procured for Rs 100 crore, he further added.
e-buses launch deferred to next year: The BMC was also supposed to roll out e-bus project from 2020. The corona pandemic, however, delayed the launch and the same has now been shifted to 2023.
The Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) will give a subsidy of 40 percent, while 60 percent will be borne by the operator, said Choudhary. Three depots will be constructed across the city for the 38-seater 300 buses. Once charged, these buses will run for 200 km, he said. Only 100 buses will be rolled out in the first phase, he added.
On anvil, Indore-Bhopal e-buses : The private players have also entered the scene and are planning to launch inter-city e-buses on Bhopal-Indore route. A Hyderabad-based company GreenCell Mobility has secured permission to launch Nue-Go e-bus on Bhopal-Indore route. The launch ceremony, earlier scheduled for June 10, has now been pushed to the third week in view of the urban body polls, said the chief executive officer of the company Ashok Agrawal.
“We will have 100 e-buses transiting through various cities in Madhya Pradesh. The gross CO2 emission avoided over the lifetime of these buses would be 56,154 tons while through the company 4,125 new jobs will be created,” he said.
The buses would run along ISBT Habibganj, Lal Ghati and Radisson square in the city. The depots for charging and maintenance will be built at Halalpur Bus stand. The company is already doing a trial run of the buses in the state, said Agrawal.
