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80% of Delhi's entire bus fleet to be completely electric by 2025, announces Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal launched 97 electric buses today, and claimed that 300 such buses will ply on Delhi roads by September. With the new addition today, the number of electric buses in Delhi rose to 249.

80 per cent Delhi s entire bus fleet to be completely electric by 2025 announces Kejriwal gcw
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First Published Aug 24, 2022, 4:28 PM IST

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that nearly 80 per cent of the city's entire bus fleet will be completely electric by 2025. He flagged off 97 electric buses from the Rajghat bus depot here that took the number of such vehicles to 250.

"1,500 buses that will be introduced by November or December have already been ordered. In Delhi, there are already 153 e-buses operating, and with the addition of these buses, the fleet will total 250. By September, 50 additional e-buses will be introduced," he promised. He said by November 2023, approximately1,800 electric buses will be travelling the streets of Delhi.

"By 2025, Eighty per cent of buses out of a total of 10,380 buses will be electric. By 2023, there will be charging stations at 55 depots. Delhi would be transformed into a global transportation model," he added. The flagging off of electric buses, according to Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, was a suitable response to those who predicted that DTC would close.

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This comes after Kejriwal earlier this year signalled the start of 150 more electric buses. These electric buses will run in addition to the 102 vehicles that are currently on Delhi's roadways. The electric buses were purchased under the Center's FAME-II programme, according to DTC officials. Additionally, the state administration plans to quickly add 2000 additional electric buses. With the flag-off of these electric buses, the overall number of buses in Delhi’s fleet will increase to 7,300. Currently, DTC has 3670 buses and around 3033 are under Cluster services. 

After being sent off from the Indraprastha Depot in May of this year, one of the 150 new electric buses added to DTC's fleet malfunctioned due to an increase in temperature over the permitted limit. However, the Delhi Transport Corporation said that the vehicle had halted due to an internal security feature and had been repaired in two hours.

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(With PTI inputs)

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