In an attempt to promote an eco friendly road transport network, the centre on Friday allotted 240 Electric Buses (E-Buses) to Maharashtra.
Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Prakash Javadekar took to his Twitter account on Friday to make the announcement.
As part of the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacter of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) India scheme, the centre on Friday sanctioned 670 e-buses to four states (Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chandigarh) and of all the states, Maharashtra has received the highest number of buses.
The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) will receive 100 buses for it’s inter city services and Mumbai's lifeline Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) will receive 40 e-buses.
Presently BEST has 38 e-buses in its fleet, of which six buses are owned by the undertaking and 32 are being procured on wet lease.
"Presently, MSRTC doesn't have any e-bus. These buses will help us in improving our intercity network, Maharashtra has a wide road transport network and its good that the centre has acknowledged the importance," MSRTC chief, Shekhar Channe told FPJ.
Channe also mentioned, the procedure of procurement of the buses has been initiated and the buses will reach the depot soon.
"BEST has some e buses under its fleet, however most of these buses are being run on feeder. We hope to press the new buses on longer routes to promote eco friendly commute," said a senior BEST official.
Alongside MSRTC and BEST, 100 e-buses were also sanctioned for the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMTC). The Navi Mumbai municipality has it's own fleet of buses which provide intra city services to commutters.
The FAME India is a national electric mobility mission plan whose aim is to encourage electric vehicles by providing subsidies.
