No more diesel buses for BTMC, only green ones

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: In a bid to switch from polluting fossil fuel source of energy to the more environment-friendly renewable green energy sources, the BMTC has decided not to purchase diesel buses in the coming days.

As per sources from the BMTC, a proposal has been sent to the government to purchase only electric buses in order to reduce air pollution, and given the fact that diesel prices have risen considerably. The BMTC has recently placed an order for over 900 electric buses from the Tata group, and the latest order is for 390 new buses with JBM Auto and Switch Mobility, a subsidiary of Ashok Leyland.

The BMTC paid Rs 130 crore to the JBM for the procurement of e-buses plus an investment of Rs 83 lakh per bus to Ashok Leyland. The transport utility had invited a tender for purchasing 480 diesel buses and that will be the last such proposal. This year, the BMTC has given priority to buying electric buses by deciding not to go in for diesel buses in the future.

The corporation aims at becoming an eco-friendly public transporter. BMTC Managing Director Satyavati said that an order has been passed to acquire electric buses from Tata Motors. "About 20 buses will be inducted by April and will run on a trial basis," she said.

The corporation has planned to induct 1,200 electric buses in three phases, which will hit the roads by August this year. “A total of 921 electric buses out of 1,500 from Tata Motors were allocated to us by the Union government. We signed an agreement with the company on December 16," she added.