Delay in arrival of e-buses due to absence of charging stations!

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The Smart City Office has decided to hire and ply 35 electric buses on a rental basis to reduce the pollution levels in the city. The Hyderabad agency has been shortlisted to provide e-buses. The agency assured of providing the first batch of 15 buses by June-end, but due to the absence of the charging stations, the arrival of e-buses has been postponed till July, said the sources.

It may be noted that smart buses are being operated in the city since 2018. In the first phase, 100 buses were purchased from a reputed manufacturing company. Out of it, 90 buses are plying on the roads while 10 buses are kept as reserved in the fleet.

Later on, the board of directors (BoD) of Smart City decided to hire electric buses. The tender process was floated and an agreement of supplying 35 e-buses was also signed between Smart City and the Hyderabad-based contractor. Hence it was decided to supply 15 buses by June-end and 20 by December-end.

It may be noted that the construction of a hi-tech bus depot is underway. The e-buses will also be parked here. As per the plan, the Smart City will be setting up the charging stations at the depot. The construction of the depot is still underway. Accordingly, the work of the charging station got delayed. Hence 15 buses instead of June will now arrive in the city in July, said the sources.