PM e-bus Seva: Cabinet okays Rs 57,613-cr electric bus scheme for cities

New Delhi: The Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a bus scheme — PM eBus Seva — for augmenting city bus operation which will see the deployment of 10,000 electric buses on PPP model. The scheme would have an estimated cost of Rs 57,613 crore, out of which support of Rs 20,000 crore will be provided by the Central government. The scheme will support bus operations for 10 years and will cover 169 cities. It will prioritise the cities which do not have any organised bus service, said an official statement on Wednesday.

“The scheme will cover cities of three lakh and above population as per census 2011 including all the capital cities of Union Territories, North Eastern Region and Hill States. Under this scheme priority will be given to cities having no organised bus service. The scheme will generate 45,000 to 55,000 direct jobs through deployment of around 10,000 e-buses in city bus operation,” said the statement.

PM e-Bus Seva: Scheme will have 2 segments

The Segment A of the scheme will focus on augmenting the city bus services and will cover 169 cities. “The approved bus scheme will augment city bus operations with 10,000 e-buses on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. Associated Infrastructure will provide support for Development/ up-gradation of depot infrastructure, and the creation of behind-the-meter power infrastructure (substation, etc) for e-buses,” the statement added.

The Segment B of the scheme will focus on Green Urban Mobility Initiatives (GUMI) in 181 cities. “The scheme envisages green initiatives like bus priority, infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, NCMC-based Automated Fare Collection Systems, Charging infrastructure, etc,” said the government.

States, cities will be responsible for running electric bus services

Under the scheme, states/cities shall be responsible for running the bus services and making payments to the bus operators. The Central government will support these bus operations by providing a subsidy to the extent specified in the proposed scheme.

Boost to E-mobility

The scheme will promote e-mobility and provide full support for behind-the-meter power infrastructure, said the government. Cities will also be supported for the development of charging infrastructure under Green Urban Mobility Initiatives. “The support to bus priority infrastructure shall not only accelerate the proliferation of state-of-the-art, energy-efficient electric buses but also foster the innovation in the e-mobility sector as well as the development of resilient supply chain for electric vehicles,” said the government.

This scheme shall also bring in economies of scale for the procurement of electric buses through aggregation for e-buses. “Adoption to electric mobility will reduce noise and air pollution and curb carbon emission. Modal shift due to increased share of bus-based public transportation will lead to GHG reduction,” said the government.

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