Kolkata: In country’s biggest e-drive Bengal transport department to get 1,180 e-buses for the city

The process of turning over 1,180 e-buses, the largest allocation of e-buses in India, will begin in Kolkata on Wednesday after the Bengal transport department signs an agreement with Tata Motors Ltd for the operation and maintenance of these buses under the Opex model.

TN City Desk

Updated Aug 3, 2022, 18:13 IST

E-buses

Photo : PTI

Kolkata: The process of turning over 1,180 e-buses, the largest allocation of e-buses in India, will begin in Kolkata on Wednesday after the Bengal transport department signs an agreement with Tata Motors Ltd for the operation and maintenance of these buses under the Opex model.

The manufacturer will run and maintain the buses under Opex. The state will contribute a fee per mile. West Bengal Transport Corporation will also provide the driver and conductor (WBTC).

In the presence of the transport minister Firhad Hakim and the principal secretary of transportation Binod Kumar, a licence of agreement (LoA) would be signed between WBTC and Tata Motors.

Under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME II) scheme, the Opex model for operating electric buses has already been launched in Kolkata with the running of 50 buses by a private operator. "Over the following two years, the city will receive 1,200 buses in phases.

Each of those buses requires a Rs 40/km fee from the state "said a representative of West Bengal Transport Corporation. 400 of them are anticipated to be electric buses by the end of 2022, and the remaining 800 buses by 2023. Under the current plan, there will be 250 non-AC buses and 150 12-m long AC buses. Additionally, 400 non-AC 9-meter buses and 350 AC 9-meter buses will be available on city routes.

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