On Thursday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi LG V K Saxena flagged off 500 electric buses, bringing the total number of these vehicles in the nation’s capital to 1,300.
According to the Delhi government, the nation’s capital has the most electric buses operating on its highways.
“We have rolled out 500 (electric) buses today. These are zero emission buses. We will continue to do such things to make Delhi better,” Saxena told reporters.
In return, Kejriwal expressed gratitude to Saxena and pledged to continue enhancing city mobility.
“I want to congratulate the people of Delhi on this occasion. I also want to thank the LG for taking out time from his busy schedule to grace this occasion. We now have 1300 electric buses in Delhi. We will continue to strengthen Delhi’s transport system,” he told reporters.
In a post on X, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said, “Congrats Delhi!!! We’re celebrating another huge milestone today! Flagged off 500 new E-buses along with Hon’ble CM @ArvindKejriwal and Hon’ble @LtGovDelhi. Success is never overnight, it is a guaranteed result of Consistency! We are yet again leading the way with a record 1300 e-buses.”
Later, addressing a press conference, the minister said the addition of the buses is a strong step in the fight against pollution.
“In winters, pollution levels go up. One CNG bus emits 800 gram of carbon dioxide per kilometre. One electric bus saves that much amount of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere,” he said.
Eight hundred electric buses had been operating on Delhi’s roadways since January 2022 prior to the addition on Thursday.
According to the minister, these buses have now travelled over 42 million km and avoided producing more than 34,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Delhi is expected to have 10,480 buses in total by 2025, of which 80% would be electric. The minister claims that this will contribute to a yearly reduction of 4.67 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide.
The new buses have panic buttons, CCTV cameras, air conditioning, and comfy seating.
“If you do not feel comfortable while travelling, you can press the panic button and immediately the live feed to the command and control centre will start. The feed will also be accessible to Delhi Police that will be able to step in,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
