The city will start seeing air-conditioned electric buses plying on its road by April next year.
The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) has given orders to OHM Global Mobility, a subsidiary of Ashok Leyland and SWITCH Mobility, for operating 500 e-buses in the city.
In a press release, the OHM Global Mobility said it would be operating low floor e-buses — 400 AC and 100 non-AC buses — under Gross Control Contract (GCC). The contractor would operate the buses, which have minimum range of 180 km per charge. They would be operated from Perumbakkam, Tondiarpet, Vyasarpadi, Poonamallee and Perambur depots to various parts of the city.
As per GCC agreement, the operator would have to take care of the infrastructure of charging stations in the depots and also recruitment of drivers. The period of contractor for the buses is 12 years.
The private operator would be paid ₹77.16 per km for non-AC buses and ₹80.86 per km for AC buses, said a senior MTC official. These e-buses, having zero pollution, would not only bring down carbon footprint but also make huge savings in operating cost compared to the diesel buses.
The MTC spends ₹116 per km for operating diesel buses, and it would not have to be spend huge capital of ₹875 crore for purchasing the buses and take up various other fixed costs in appointment of drivers and technicians.
By going for GCC, the MTC has made the private operator responsible for setting the depot infrastructure, maintenance of buses and operating them without any technical fault.
Published – October 24, 2024 09:17 pm IST