Staff Writer
New Delhi: The Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi approved ‘PM e-Bus Sewa’, a scheme to augment the operation of city buses by 10,000 in 169 cities, said Union Minister Anurag Thakur at a press briefing in New Delhi on Wednesday.
During the briefing, he said, “PM e-Bus Seva has been given approval. It would be carried out at an estimated cost of Rs 57,613 crore out of which Rs 20,000 crore will be funded by the Centre. .”
“The procurement of buses will be done under the PPP model. There will be competitive bidding and private players can come forward,” Thakur said.
The bus operations in the city will be supported by the scheme for a period of 10 years. Cities with over three lakh population including all the capital cities of union territories, north eastern region and hill states will be included.
Under this scheme, priority will be given to cities having no organized bus service.
The scheme is expected to generate 45,000 to 55,000 direct jobs through the deployment of around 10,000 buses in city bus operations.
It envisages green initiatives like bus priority, infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, NCMC-based Automated Fare Collection Systems, charging infrastructure, etc.
The scheme envisages green initiatives like bus priority, infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, NCMC-based Automated Fare Collection Systems, Charging infrastructure, etc.
Support for Operation: 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.
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.