CHENNAI: Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday flagged off 194 buses, including 145 low-floor electric buses, from the Central depot.
With the new addition, a total of 525 e-buses have been inducted into the fleet of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), out of the 625 buses planned under the Chennai Sustainable Urban Services Programme backed by the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The remaining 100 buses earmarked for the Tondiarpet depot are expected to be launched soon.
The 194 new buses include 100 AC e-buses and 45 non-AC e-buses for MTC, and 49 non-AC deluxe buses for the State Express Transport Corporation, which caters to long-distance travellers. The 145 AC buses were purchased at a cost of Rs 248.5 crore, while the 49 SETC buses were procured at a cost of Rs 30.5 crore. Udhayanidhi also inaugurated an e-depot developed for maintenance and charging infrastructure at the Central depot, set up at a cost of Rs 52.03 crore.