Karnataka transport minister urges Centre to provide direct subsidy to states for electric buses

New Indian Express

8 hours ago

MANGALURU: Karnataka Transport Minister B. Ramalinga Reddy has called on the central government to directly provide subsidies to state governments for procuring electric buses under the PM e-Bus Sewa Scheme, instead of routing them to private operators through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
Speaking at the inauguration of the automated driving test track at Pajir near Mangaluru on Sunday, Reddy said the procurement and operation of electric buses was much smoother during the UPA regime. 'At that time, electric buses cost around Rs 20 lakh. The central government provided 50% of the funding, while the state government and transport corporations each contributed 25%. This model worked efficiently for state-run services like BMTC, NWKRTC, and NEKRTC,' he said.
Under the current NDA government, however, Reddy pointed out that subsidies are granted directly to private companies through a bidding process. 'These private operators own the buses, hire drivers, and manage maintenance, while state corporations only provide conductors and pay the operator on a per-kilometre basis,' he added.
He urged the Centre to revert to a model where subsidies go directly to state transport corporations. 'This would ensure better accountability, especially when drivers are employed directly by the state,' he said.
Reddy also highlighted the steep rise in electric bus costs—now around Rs 2 crore—and appealed to the Centre to offer GST input credits to manufacturers. 'This will bring down manufacturing costs, making buses more affordable for states and beneficial for passengers,' he said.
He further recommended that operators be allowed to charge electric buses at any facility, not just at government-run charging stations. 'Private stations offer power at Rs 3–Rs 4 per unit, compared to Rs 8 at government facilities,' Reddy noted.