Delhi govt to set up 6 depots for 1,000 electric buses
NEW DELHI: To keep 1,000 electric buses, the Delhi government has finalised nearly six spaces of 42 acres each. The work of the depot building is likely to start from this week. The Delhi government has also given direction that no trees can be cut for making these depots.
"The electric buses will start coming soon and by July we would get all the buses. Before that, we need to prepare the depots to keep the buses. The primary selection of all the depots are done and the work will start soon," said an official.
The official added that all these depots will have charging points where the electric buses could be charged. Different depots will be made with different charging capacity. "The number of buses to be kept in a depot will be based on the charging capacity present in the depot. However, we are trying that the depots which would be on the busy routes should have more power back-up," said the official.
The six spots selected by the government are East Vinod Nagar, Rohini Sector 37, Burari, Salari Kale Khan, Mundhela Kalan, Daurala Village. "The department has also directed that to set up these depots no trees should be cut. When the proposal was passed, the authorities told the government that to set up some of these we need to cut some trees. But the minister has clear instruction that no trees should be cut and if necessary the plot of the depot should adjust," said the official.
The number of buses running on Delhi roads is only 5,400 against the requirement of 10,000.
In November last year, the Delhi government started a trial run of a fully electric bus to promote pollution-free public transport in the capital.
The move comes at a time when the Delhi government claims to have started several action plans as the National Capital Region reels under critical air pollution. The government has said that the trial run is part of a detailed technical feasibility assessment study on electric buses.
A trial run of a low floor AC fully electric bus was flagged-off by Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot. The bus, manufactured by a Chinese company, has a capacity of 33 seats and safety features such as four CCTV cameras with a panic button and a DC fast charging facility capable of fully charging the bus within 30 minutes.
