Civic chief wants design fixes before city gets PM e-buses
On Monday, Chaudhari, along with additional municipal commissioner Vasumana Pant and other senior officials, inspected a prototype of the new nine-metre, fully air-conditioned electric bus at the NMC headquarters. The prototype is part of the 150 e-buses sanctioned for the city in the current financial year under the PM e-bus seva scheme launched by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs.
During inspection, Chaudhari flagged major shortcomings in the bus's current design, especially regarding accessibility and passenger capacity.
While the model includes a hydraulic e-ramp and a side door to accommodate differently-abled passengers, the mechanism reportedly takes 5–10 minutes to operate, potentially causing delays on scheduled routes. Additionally, the ramp's installation has reduced the seating capacity by at least four seats, bringing it down to just 25.
Chaudhari has asked the manufacturer, JBM Auto, to increase the seating capacity by at least four seats and lower the height of the bus steps to make boarding easier for senior citizens and differently-abled passengers.
He firmly rejected the company's proposal to make these changes post-delivery, stating, "No rectification post-delivery will be accepted."
As part of a three-day trial run, the prototype will operate across various city routes to assess real-time functionality. The Centre has also sanctioned infrastructure funding to support the project, including HT and LT electric connections and construction works. Two charging depots — at Khapri and Koradi — are being developed, each with the capacity to charge 75 buses.
The Koradi depot is already operational, while work at the Khapri depot is underway.
Nagpur currently operates over 400 buses on 129 routes, catering to 1.39 lakh passengers daily. This includes 230 electric buses, 112 diesel buses, 150 midi buses, and 45 minibuses. Of the city's diesel fleet, 123 buses were scrapped, and 70 converted to CNG. To fully modernise its fleet, NMC has submitted a fresh proposal for an additional 240 AC e-buses.
The inspection was attended by key stakeholders, including project monitoring unit deputy team leader Ram Paunikar from New Delhi, CIRT's technical head Shekhar Dhole, and senior officials from JBM Auto, including Bharat Bhushan and Kuldeep Gangurde. NMC transport manager Vinod Jadhav and other municipal engineers were also present.
PM e-bus seva scheme
- Depot allotted: Koradi and Khapri
- Type of bus: Midi Buses
- Number of buses: 150
Key Features of the bus
- Bus length: 9 metres
- Eco-friendly air-conditioned electric bus
- Fast charging facility
- Special hydraulic e-ramp for differently-abled passengers
- Seating capacity for 25 passengers
- 6 CCTV cameras for passenger safety
- Display screens at four locations
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