Kolkata: The state Transport department has started installing charging points and electrification of depots to ensure the development of an ecosystem for electric vehicles, Managing Director (MD) of the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) Rajanvir Singh Kapur said on Saturday.
Kapur emphasised on the need to first have an ecosystem which includes charging point, maintenance and post-sale service availability before bringing in electric vehicles (EVs). “Bus can come after a year or two, but if the charging stations are not there then the bus will not run,” he said.
According to Kapur, the state has already set a target of 2030 to make all public transport electric. “We will be able to achieve that target by 2025 because we have already ordered a huge number of electric buses which will practically replace our entire fleet. We could not change our long route buses to electric because of the infrastructure problem but in future, even that will be done,” Kapur said.
Bengal ranked among the top 10 states for mandating the creation of charging infrastructure in new residential buildings, offices, parking lots and malls among others with its Electric Vehicle (EV) policy scoring in 10 out of 21 parameters regarding EV penetration. The West Bengal EV policy was launched on June 3, 2021.
The state’s EV policy 2021 aims to have 10 lakh electrical vehicles and 1 lakh public and semi-charging stations within five years. Currently, it is also aiming at deploying over 1,200 electric buses and 1000 EV charging stations by 2024.