Govt floats tender for 10.9K electric buses under PM e-drive scheme
Bengaluru, infamous for its traffic snarls, has got the highest allocation with 4,500 buses, with Delhi getting 2,800 buses. The three other cities chosen under the scheme so far are Hyderabad (2,000), Ahmedabad (1,000) and Surat (600). The tender is floated at a time when Indian cities are struggling with a low number of public buses leading to overcrowding and private vehicle usage.
A recent report by consultancy firm Kearney found that there are an average of 0.26 buses per 1,000 residents in the top four megacities compared to the threshold of 0.6.
The buses will be of 9m and 12m length with yearly assured service of 64,800km and 72,000km, respectively, for 12 years, according to the tender document. The tendering process is being conducted by the Union ministry of power, new and renewable energy-owned Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL) under a Gross Cost Contract model, as was done for the PM-eBus Sewa scheme meant for smaller cities without formal public transport.
The expression of interest from state government authorities for the scheme was sought from November 2024. According to the policy document, an assessment matrix has been developed to evaluate the performance of states in promoting EV charging infrastructure development. This matrix includes parameters across three main categories: existing EV policies, EV penetration, and enablers for deploying EV charging stations.
The scheme operated by the Union ministry of heavy industries was approved by the Cabinet in September 2024 for procuring 14,028 e-buses along with 2.479 million e-2-wheelers, and 316,000 e-3-wheelers. The drive towards electrification in the automotive sector is in line with India's net-zero target by 2070. The PM e-drive scheme was preceded by the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) scheme.
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