"Electric Vehicles (EVs) will make a qualitative change to the lives of people," Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday at a function in Sola to roll out the first fleet of electric buses in the city.
Under the Faster Adaption and Manufacture of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme, Gujarat will get 550 electric buses, with Ahmedabad alone getting 300 buses. Surat will get 150 buses, while Vadodara and Rajkot will get 50 buses each. Each 'silent' bus can carry up to 50 passengers and will not emit smoke. They also have automatic door sensors and won't start if the doors are open.
Eight buses rolled out on Thursday itself, though a total of 50 are being inducted. Eighteen of these have swap technology — the bus can traverse about 40 km per battery and swapping takes a mere four minutes. The remaining 32 have fast charging facilities and can cover about 200 km per charge. Trial runs have been on for about six months.
The Home Minister said Thursday's inauguration was the first step towards a nationwide movement sparked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's agenda to combat global warming. India's move to promote the use of EVs in public transport across the country will set an example to the world for reducing the use of fossil fuels. He added that the Prime Minister's vision will also make India a manufacturing hub for EVs. "The roll-out of eight buses here is just the beginning," he said. "In a phased manner, electric vehicles will be used across the country. Moreover, instead of importing buses, we will use buses made in India," said Shah.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, also present at the function, said parallel efforts are on to increase use of greener fuels such as CNG, instead of petrol and diesel. "If India is taking leading the world in the use of electric vehicles, Gujarat will take the lead within India. Tenders for remaining buses have already been floated," he said.
Ashok Leyland supplied the 50 buses to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) at a gross cost model. The company will own, operate and maintain the buses, while AMC will compensate it on a per-kilometre rate.
