Delhi govt to table tender for e-buses procurement before cabinet

Tender for procuring e-buses is in the final stage and will be presented before the Delhi Cabinet very soon for approval, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said on Thursday after flagging off the trial run of a battery-operated standard size bus. He said that the department is "fully prepared" to implement the odd-even road rationing scheme, whenever the need arises in view of deteriorated air quality in the national capital.

The Delhi government is moving ahead with procuring e-buses to combat high levels of air pollution in the city. "The tender of e-buses is in the final stage. It will be presented before the cabinet very soon and floated after its approval," Gahlot told reporters.

The low-floor e-bus flagged off for trial will ply between Anand Vihar and Mehrauli for three months. This is the third trial of e-buses of three different companies in the last two months. The e-bus, manufactured by Olectra, has a seating capacity of 35 persons and can run for 250 km on a single charge.

"On a single charge, the bus is claimed to run 250 km. The trials are aimed to check the claims of the company. The routes in Delhi covered by public transport buses are on average around 220 km," Gahlot said. In previous trials, it was observed that charging of e-bus of another company took a little longer time, he said.

The Delhi transport minister said the tender for procurement of 1,000 CNG buses has already been floated and the delivery is expected to begin by April-June next year.