The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) is planning to upgrade its public transport system by adding 937 e-buses to its fleet in Marathwada. To support these buses, the state transportation agency is also making arrangements to set up charging stations in both urban and rural areas.
The state government has sanctioned 5,150 e-buses for the entire state. These buses will run on a rental basis for which the tender process is being implemented. For the charging of these buses, 127 charging stations will be established across the state. MSRTC's general manager (traffic) has directed all the divisional controllers to make the high-tension wires available for it.
The Marathwada region has been sanctioned a total of 937 buses, with different numbers allocated for each district. Specifically, 207 buses are for Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 83 buses for Beed, 104 buses for Jalna, 102 buses for Latur, 100 buses for Parbhani, 126 buses for Dharashiv, and 215 buses for Nanded.
Among the 207 buses assigned to the district, 70 will be operating from the Central Bus Stand, while 81 will run from the Cidco Bus Stand. Vaijapur will have 19 buses, Paithan will have 8 buses, Sillod will have 15 buses, and Gangapur will have 14 buses.
The establishment of charging stations is planned in several locations, including Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Vaijapur, Paithan, Sillod, and Gangapur. Additionally, in the Marathwada region, these stations will be available in places such as Parali, Ambad, Partur, Ahmedpur, Nilanga, Ausa, Umarga, Bhokar, Kinwat, Hadgaon, Biloli, and Mahur.
The electric buses will run from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to various cities including Pune, Solapur, Dhule, Jalgaon, Nashik, Borivali, Akola, Yeotmal, Chandrapur, Nagpur, and more.