NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with Lieutenant-Governor VK Saxena on Tuesday flagged off 400 electric buses in an attempt to strengthen public transport ahead of the G-20 Summit. Of the 7,135 buses, 800 electric buses are running in Delhi, the highest in the country, the Delhi government said.
The goal is to have over 8,000 electric buses by 2025, Kejriwal said. There will be more than 10,000 buses in the city, out of which 80% or 8,280 buses will be electric. Delhi will be known across the world for its adoption of electric buses, he said.
He said these buses are a part of the subsidy scheme covering 921 buses. The Centre has provided a subsidy of `417 crore for electric buses, while the Delhi government will spend `3,674 crore. At present, there are 800 electric buses running on the streets, which is the highest in the country.
Terming the occasion a day of celebration for the people of the city, he said, “Around 400 new E-buses have been added to the fleet of the DTC. Before this, 400 E-buses were in operation for the people of the city. With these air-conditioned E-buses, the city now has the largest fleet of electric buses.”
“By the end of 2023, we are positive of having 1,900 electric buses. With 1,900 such mass transport vehicles, Delhi would be counted among the few cities in the world to have the most electric buses. We will soon be able to reduce CO2 emissions by 1.07 lakh tonnes every year,” said Kejriwal.