In a welcome news for commuters travelling in and out of the twin-city, 57 electric buses are in the final stages of delivery and will be added next month to the existing fleet of the public transport authority attached to the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC). Municipal Commissioner Dilip Dhole and his team travelled in a demo-bus to evaluate the performance of the vehicle in Pune on Tuesday.
The MBMC has appointed Pinnacle Mobility Solutions, a Pune based private limited company which will operate the public transport system on a-wet leased Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model.
Private contractors to own, maintain E-Buses
While 32 (midi buses) out of the 57 electric buses will be 9-meter-long and without air-conditioners, 15 will be regular non-AC buses and remaining 10 will be air-conditioned buses. The 12-metre and 9 metre buses will have a seating capacity of 39 and 31 plus drivers respectively. Under the wet leased GCC model, the buses will be owned, maintained, and driven by a private contractor who will also pay for fuel (charging) in exchange for a fixed per-km rate and generate income through advertisements.
MBMC will later add new additional features to the e-buses
MBMC will only deploy conductors to collect revenue through ticket sales. “Our team has suggested some changes and addition of features to be incorporated in the buses. The induction of e-buses will not only change the face of our public transport services by ensuring a clean and green environment but will prove to be pocket-friendly rides for commuters and provide feeder connectivity to upcoming metro stations in the twin-city,” said MBMC chief-Dilip Dhole.
Presently, 71 out of the 74 buses operate on 18 routes which have an average ridership of 90,000 commuters per day. With the induction of e-buses, the MBMC plans to gradually phase out the conventional mode of transport by replacing it with this sustainable alternative and increase the number of commuters to 1.25 lakh by adding more routes. With the induction of e-buses, the MBMC also plans to gradually phase out the conventional mode of transport by replacing it with this sustainable alternative. The e-bus project is being implemented under the aegis of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) mooted by the central government for improving air quality in the country in mission mode.
