Bizz Buzz Bureau Visakhapatnam

APSRTC, which holds a fleet of 10,661 buses of which 8,012 are owned and 2,649 are hired, will have only e-buses by 2029.

The corporation wants the people to ride on e-buses as per the directive given by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to reduce carbon footprints.

APSRTC officials say e-buses will reduce dependency on fossil fuels, which India is primarily dependent on imports, eco-friendly and pollution-free transportation., long-term savings in fuel and operational cost and better comfort and facilities for passengers. Under the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India)-II scheme of Government of India, 100 electric buses were introduced in APSRTC under the GCC (Gross Cost Contract) scheme. These buses are currently running successfully on routes such as Tirupati–Tirumala, Tirupati–Nellore, Tirupati–Kadapa and Madanapalle. Payment per kilometre is Rs49.43 including power. The GoI under FAME launched an Rs11,500 crore initiative to speed up electrical mobility first in 2019. FAME-II envisages an investment of Rs10,900 crore.

The policy of GoI for procurement of e-buses is under GCC (wet lease) only. The main reasons for opting GCC are the technology of e-buses battery is not yet matured and still in its developmental stages thereby due to aging of the battery the range is reducing after 2 – 3 years besides power consumption per km is increasing and the initial cost of the e-bus is approx. Rs.1.5 crore per bus thereby procuring the buses under CAPEX requires a massive capital expenditure.

iFurther, APSRTC is having a huge shortage of employees in all categories. GoI has sanctioned 1050 e-buses under PM eBus Sewa Scheme and the buses will be deployed in phases in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati and other cities and towns.