New Delhi: Eighty per cent of Delhi’s bus fleet will run on electric by 2025, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday (January 2), asserting that acquisition of e-buses will go a long way in reducing pollution in the national capital. Sharing a roadmap for procurement of electric buses, he said the government will be buying 1,500 such buses in 2023 and by 2025, 6,380 electric buses will be procured.
दिल्लीवासियों की सेवा में आज से 50 और नई इलेक्ट्रिक बसें सड़कों पर उतर गई हैं। दिल्ली में अब तक की सबसे ज़्यादा 7379 बसें सड़कों पर हैं। 2025 तक ये संख्या कुल 10,480 हो जाएगी जिसमें 80 प्रतिशत इलेक्ट्रिक बसें होंगी। बहुत जल्द दिल्ली को अपनी इलेक्ट्रिक बसों के लिए भी जाना जाएगा। pic.twitter.com/UJudBVO3ma
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 2, 2023
Also Read: Electric Vehicles: Delhi Government To Provide Incentive To Buyers Of Electric Cycles
Speaking at a ceremony at the Rajghat Depot to flag off 50 electric buses, CM Kejriwal said,
We have 300 electric buses now. Delhi has 7,379 buses plying on its roads currently which is the highest number of buses plying on the roads in the last 75 years. New buses were not purchased for many years and we were also questioned over it.
बधाई दिल्ली। आज से 50 और नई इलेक्ट्रिक बसें डीटीसी के बेड़े में शामिल हुईं। https://t.co/dksPNXquqW
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 2, 2023
Out of the 7,379 buses, more than 4,000 are being operated by the Delhi Transport Corporation and over 3,000 through the DIMTS, he said.
CM Kejriwal also shared that nearly 100 electric feeder buses were being operated by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. But as it could not run them, the Delhi government is taking over the corporation’s bus fleet, he said.
By 2025, over 10,000 buses will be there on Delhi’s roads and 80 per cent of them will be electric. This is a huge step in reducing pollution, he said.
The chief minister also said the process installing charging points for e-buses at depots is going on and three already have the facility.
CM Kejriwal said,
By June this year, the work of electrification of 17 bus depots will be completed and by December, 36 bus depots will be electrified.
The electric buses are equipped with facilities like panic buttons, GPS, cameras.
Also Read: India Gets Its First Flex Fuel-Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicle
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diarrhoea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.