Tata Motors delivers another 400 e-buses to Delhi
Delhi’s electric bus fleet is growing. The city’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal this week flagged off 400 Tata e-buses. The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) now runs 800 zero-emission buses, the largest fleet in the country.
The Minister confirmed plans to have 1,900 electric buses on the roads of Delhi by the end of this year and 8,000 electric buses by the end of 2025.
“By the end of 2023, we aim to have 1,900 electric buses, positioning Delhi among the world’s foremost cities with a substantial electric bus presence,” he said.
Kejriwal added the government was also working on setting up charging infrastructure. So far, 1,500 charging stations have been installed in the city by TML CV Mobility Solutions.
Its Chairman Asim Kumar Mukhopadhyay said: “We have set up state-of-the-art enabling ecosystems at select depots across the National Capital Territory of Delhi to charge, maintain and seamlessly operate the e-bus fleet.”
The Delhi vehicle rollout primarily relies on a deal DTC struck with Tata only at the beginning of this year. The Indian corporation is to supply 1,500 electric buses for use in India’s capital. The vehicles are of type Tata Starbus EV, a 12-metre electric bus. The contract runs over twelve years including maintenance.
These new buses are part of the 921-bus subsidy scheme, with the Central government contributing a subsidy of ₹417 crore for electric buses, while the Delhi government is investing ₹3,674 crores.
India has pushed policies to accelerate the electric transport transition with mixed effects. While the capital city is making strides, a recent tender is reportedly turning into a flop. Issued as the third round of tender for 4,675 electric buses in January 2023, the industry did not bid. Established OEMs such as Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and PMI Electro Mobility refrained from offers since the chosen business model would have put the money and control in the hand of state transport companies.
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