Electric buses from Centre: Karnataka demands 4500 buses, Kerala shows no interest

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: While neighbouring states are steadily expanding their electric bus fleets to meet modern demands, KSRTC continues to rely solely on diesel buses.

Under the PM e-Drive scheme announced by the central government, the state transport department has taken no steps to procure e-buses.

The Centre announced the PM e-Drive scheme in May 2024. It will be implemented until March 2026. Under this scheme, Karnataka has requested 4,500 buses. Kerala, however, has shown no interest in implementing the scheme.

Just two weeks ago, Karnataka added 148 non-AC electric buses to its fleet. This brings the total number of e-buses operating in Bengaluru alone to 1,436.

Tamil Nadu, which had earlier shown little interest in electric buses, rolled out 120 non-AC low-floor e-buses on June 30 and is set to purchase another 505 soon.

Meanwhile, despite announcing an e-vehicle policy in 2019, Kerala’s transport corporation is currently purchasing 143 diesel buses.

When the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme was announced in 2023, Kerala was informed that 950 buses would be allotted to the state’s cities. However, the state transport department did not proceed to avail them.

PM e-Bus Sewa

The scheme provides e-buses for intercity and interstate services. A total of 14,028 e-buses will be supplied over two years, with the central government spending Rs 4,391 crore on the project.

Features

• Every seat in the buses procured by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu comes equipped with seat belts.
• CCTV cameras to ensure passenger safety.
• Mobile charging points for commuters’ convenience.
• Emergency alarms for quick assistance in emergencies.
• Ramps for the Differently Abled to aid easy boarding and deboarding.