Delhi's first electric bus flagged off

Delhi's public transportation system took a turn to a greener era on January 17th 2022  as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged off the state’s first-ever electric bus from the Indraprastha Depot. At the inauguration, the CM stated that Delhi will soon have 300 state of the art electric buses very soon.

“This day marks a monumental step in the direction of combating pollution in Delhi; we aim to bring in 2,000 electric buses in the coming years. Since 2011, not a single new bus had been procured by the DTC; this is the first new bus being added to its fleet in a decade. Public should also contribute to this war against pollution by switching their vehicles to electric. “ he said.

He also mentioned that the bus can get charged within one to one and a half hours on a fast charger. It can run for a minimum of one twenty kilometres in one charge. Moreover, all the depots are being made electric charging friendly.

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Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot and senior officers and employees of Delhi Transport Corporation were also present on the occasion. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with Transport Minister  Kailash Gahlot inspected the modern facilities provided for the passengers inside the bus while the officials gave detailed information about the facilities available in the bus.

Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said that along with promoting environment friendly transport, we are committed to provide a world class & smooth transport service to the people of Delhi.

CM further tweeted saying, “we’ll see a revolution where as and when older buses are rolled out of service, new electric buses will be onboarded. This is a very important step in combating the problem of pollution. This is a zero emission bus and there’s barely any noise made by it.”

The CM further tweeted, “Congratulations to all Delhiites. The first electric bus has started running on the roads of Delhi from today. 300 electric buses will soon be added to DTC's fleet. You should also contribute to this war against pollution by switching your vehicle to electric.”

These state of the art buses are 100% electric with zero tailpipe emissions. They are among the 300 electric buses that will be inducted under DTC. The total fleet of 300 buses will run from Mundela Kalan (100 buses), Rajghat (50) and Rohini Sector 37 (150 buses). These buses have kneeling ramps for differently abled passengers, and special pink seats for women passengers. These buses are equipped with CCTV cameras, connected to a 2way Central Command and Control Centre (CCC) at Kashmere Gate, 10 panic buttons in each bus and a hooter.

The first electric bus of Delhi will ply on route no. E-44

This Electric Bus Service of route No.E-44, will be operated as a Circular Bus Service from DTC’s Indraprastha  Depot via ITO, AGCR, Tilak Marg, Mandi House, BaraKhamba Road, Connaught Place, Janpath, Rajesh Pilot Marg, Prithvi Raj Road, Arbindo Marg, AIIMS, Ring Road, South Extension, Ashram, Bhogal, Jangpura, India Gate, High Court, Pragati Maidan and will be terminated at IP Depot.  This service will be available from 05:30 AM to 08:20 PM from Indraprastha Depot.

Currently there are about 6900 buses plying on the roads of Delhi, which include low floor and standard floor AC and non AC buses. This is the first time in Delhi that the fleet strength is around 6900 buses. After removing the old buses, 450 more new buses are being added to the cluster. On Friday, Chief Minister flagged off 100 buses. In addition, the Delhi government is planning to add 250 more buses to Ghumanhera depot. The Delhi government is soon going to induct 300 electric buses in the cluster fleet and about 2000 new electric buses in the DTC fleet.

The route plan of electric buses coming to Delhi will be as follows-

1- This will be the route plan of 50 buses being inducted in the Rajghat Electric Fleet

1- Route Number- TMS (Minus)

This route of the electric buses running from ISBT Kashmere Gate will be about 48 km long. 9 buses will ply on this route.

2- Route number- 211

This route from Mori Gate to Mayur Vihar Phase III (Via Paper Market) will be about 19 km long. 6 electric buses will ply on this route.

3- Route No-604

This route from New Delhi Railway Station Gate 2 to Lado Sarai Terminal will be about 26.5 km long. 10 electric buses will ply on this route.

4- Route Number- TMS (Plus)

This route from ISBT Kashmere Gate will be 50.7 km long and 9 buses will run on this route.

5- Route Number- Airport Express-4

14 buses will run on this 31.5 km long route from ISBT Kashmere Gate to IGI Airport Gate-3.

2- This will be the route plan of 100 buses running from Mundka Kalan depot

1- Route No- 821

This route from Zafarpur Kalan to Tilak Nagar will be 20 km long and 5 buses will run on this route.

2- Route No- 835

This route from Dhansa border to Tilak Nagar will be 30.7 km long and 10 buses will run on this route.

3- Route No-764

This route from Najafgarh Terminal to Nehru Place Terminal will be 34.4 km long and 25 buses will run on this route.

4- Route No- 978

This route from Najafgarh Terminal to Azadpur Terminal will be 26 km long and 20 buses will run on it.

5- Route No.-578

This route from Najafgarh Terminal to Safdarjung Terminal will be 37 km long and 20 buses will run on it.

6- Route number 826

This route from Chaudhary Brahm Prakash Ayurvedic Hospital Khera Dabar to Tilak Nagar will be 25.7 km long and 5 buses will run on it.

7- Route No- 539A

This route from Najafgarh Terminal to Lado Sarai Phirni Road will be 33.9 km long and 10 buses will run on it.

3- The alternate reserve route plan will be as follows-

1- Route No-708

This route from Najafgarh Terminal to Narela Terminal will be 45 km long and 10 buses will run on it.

2-Route No- 817N

This route from Najafgarh Terminal to Mori Gate Terminal will be 31.8 km long and 10 buses will run on it.

3- Route number-923

This route from Najafgarh Terminal to Old Delhi Railway Station will be 30.4 km long and 10 buses will run on it.