Seeking to enhance green mobility, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved ‘PM-eBus Sewa’ for augmenting city bus operations under which priority will be given to cities having no organised bus service, Union minister Anurag Thakur said.
Ten thousand e-buses will be deployed on public-private partnership (PPP) model in 169 cities.
Infrastructure will be upgraded in 181 cities under the Green Urban Mobility Initiatives, he told reporters.
The total estimated cost of the scheme has been pegged at Rs 57,613 crore, out of which support of Rs 20,000 crore will be provided by the central government.
The Scheme will support bus operations for 10 years.
As per Thakur, 100 cities out of the total 169, where the buses will be deployed will be selected by a challenge method and must have over 3 lakh population.
Furthermore, the minister added that the states that will scrap the old buses will also benefit from additional supplies.
The PM e-bus Sewa scheme is part of the government’s efforts to promote the use of electric vehicles and reduce pollution in the country. It is also expected to create jobs in the manufacturing and operation of electric buses.
Shares of companies that investors expect to benefit from the plan rose after the news. Electric bus makers Olectra Greentech and JBM Auto closed up 8.8% and 10.1% respectively.
Tata Motors finished up 1.9%, while Ashok Leyland, which has a unit making electric buses, jumped 2.5% before settling up 0.9%.Direct Employment Generation:
The scheme will generate 45,000 to 55,000 direct jobs through deployment of around 10,000 buses in city bus operation. The scheme will promote e-mobility and provide full support for behind-the-meter power infrastructure.
Cities will also be supported for development of charging infrastructure under Green Urban Mobility Initiatives.
The support to bus priority infrastructure shall not only accelerate the proliferation of state-of-the-art, energy efficient electric buses but also foster the innovation in the e-mobility sector as well as development of resilient supply chain for electric vehicles.
This scheme shall also bring in economies of scale for procurement of electric buses through aggregation for e-buses.
Adoption to Electric mobility will reduce noise and air pollution and curb carbon emission. Modal shift due to increased share of bus-based public transportation will lead to GHG reduction. Under the scheme, States/Cities shall be responsible for running the
bus services and making payments to the bus operators. The Central Government will support these bus operations by providing subsidy to the extent specified in the proposed scheme.