Private bus operators seek nod, subsidy to run e-buses

Kolkata: A section of bus operators in the city is set to appeal to the state government to allow them to operate electric buses in Kolkata. At present, electric buses in the city are operated only by the state government.

“At a time when curbing air pollution has emerged as a major challenge and efforts are being made to switch over to electric vehicles for reducing pollution, we also want to contribute to this green cause. We will soon write to the chairman of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) and the state Pollution Control Board to propose a subsidy package so that we can introduce electric buses in the city,” said Tito Saha of City Suburban Bus Service (CSBS).

The proposal to introduce electric buses was raised at the recent annual conference of the City Suburban Bus Service (CSBS), which was attended by senior officials of the state Transport Department, including Principal Secretary Saumitra Mohan and West Bengal Transport Corporation Managing Director Shiraz Daneshyar.

A senior official of the Transport Department, responding to CSBS’s proposal on electric buses, said the state government is currently focusing only on conventional diesel buses. “A formal letter of demand or proposal in this regard will help us take up the matter. The primary concern will be the sharing of initial capital between the public and private sectors,” the official said.

A Transport Department official noted that the state’s experience in operating electric buses in the city has shown that their capital cost is significantly high, with the battery, sourced from China, accounting for over 40 per cent of the total vehicle cost and lasting a maximum of four years.

At present, the Transport Department is focusing on CNG buses and has already received approval to procure 200 such vehicles. “We expect to complete the procurement of these buses by the end of this calendar year, and we are hopeful that at least 30 will be operational before Puja,” said a senior Transport Department official.