My Dream Budget: Backed by German bank, government to get electric buses on Tamil Nadu roads

The bidding procedure, however, will commence only after getting the approval of the Madras High Court, which had stayed procurement of buses that are not disabled-friendly.
A MTC bus being checked at Pallavan House, in Chennai. (File photo| R Satish Babu, EPS)
A MTC bus being checked at Pallavan House, in Chennai. (File photo| R Satish Babu, EPS)

CHENNAI: The Institute of Road Transport (IRT), a technical arm of the transport department, will soon invite tenders to purchase 500 electric buses. "Specifications for the buses are being finalised and bids will be invited soon. About 80 per cent of the cost will be funded by KfW (German Development Bank)," said a highly-placed IRT source.

The bidding procedure, however, will commence only after getting the approval of the Madras High Court, which had stayed procurement of buses that are not disabled-friendly. "The hearing in the case may happen in the next two weeks," an official said.

In the 2019-20 Budget, it was stated that 2,000 e-buses will be purchased as per an MoU signed with London-based C-40 Cities Climate Leadership Group in March 2018. The government also announced that it had signed an agreement with KfW (German Development Bank) to procure 2,000 electric buses. No funds, however, were released.

The plan to buy e-buses was made in the 2020-21 Budget, too, but funding was missing. In the 2021-22 Budget, of the Rs 3,820 crore allocated to the transport department, Rs 451.5 crore was earmarked for purchasing electric vehicles through a loan from KfW.

Urban planners opined that transition from fuel-powered mobility to battery-operated vehicles will be cost-effective only when the share of private e-vehicles goes up. Dr Abdul Razak Mohamed, a professor at Vijayawada's School of Planning and Architecture and who studied public transport in Chennai, said the operation of electric buses in India is still in an early stage.

"Even in New Delhi, it was introduced only on a trial basis. Uninterrupted operation is the only way through which e-buses will attract more investments. For this, charging stations should be set up at bus depots and highways in large numbers," he added.

The first trial for an electric bus was conducted in Chennai in July 2017. In 2019, vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland introduced two electric buses on the Chennai Central-Thiruvanmiyur and Koyambedu-Broadway routes for MTC, only to get them cancelled within a few months.

During the trial phase, the private company bore the expenses of bus maintenance and the MTC took the earnings from the buses.

In August 2019, the Centre’s Department of Heavy Industries approved 525 electric buses for eight cities in the State under Phase-II of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Scheme (FAME India Scheme).

This plan was shelved last year after the Centre refused to grant subsidy to the TN transport department. "Purchasing e-buses under FAME II is not financially viable. There were a few terms and conditions that are against the State government's policy," the official said.

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