Delhi Transport Department on Wednesday floated tenders for inducting 140 low floor, air-conditioned electric buses, to strengthen the public transport fleet and check air pollution in the city.
The request for qualification and proposal has been issued for operation of the 140 electric buses under the cluster scheme of the Delhi government, said a Transport department notice.
Earlier this month, tenders were floated by the department for 190 low floor, air-conditioned buses under the cluster scheme.
The Delhi government has undertaken a programme to establish an environmentally, socially and financially sustainable network of public transport for Delhi and potentially some adjoining areas of the National Capital Region, to encourage commuters to shift to public transport, said official documents.
Over 3,000 CNG buses have been inducted so far under the cluster scheme and now, the focus is on bringing in more electric buses that will help reduce vehicular pollution, said a senior Transport department officer.
The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) runs around 3,600 low floor buses in the city. Together, the DTC and cluster scheme comprise the public transport bus fleet in the national capital.
The new buses will also be equipped with latest features like GPS, panic buttons, CCTV cameras and are expected to roll out on the city roads by mid-2022, if the bids are successfully carried out, officials of the department said.
According to estimates, Delhi requires at least 11,000 buses to fulfil public transport needs of the people. Delhi government has been making efforts to add more buses.
The DTC too had floated tenders for 300 electric buses recently that are expected to roll out from November this year.
