Vadodara: City commuters can travel in electric buses from Monday, as the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) launches the e-bus service under the Centre’s PM-eBus Sewa scheme.The first batch of 30 air-conditioned electric buses will begin operations on existing routes. The formal inauguration will be held in the presence of Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel.The fares will be kept nominal in line with the Centre’s guidelines. VMC officials said fare structures in Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot were studied before finalising the pricing model, with ticket rates likely to range from Rs 5 to Rs 30 depending on distance.Initially, the electric buses will ply on routes currently served by the city’s 110 CNG buses. Once the entire fleet becomes operational, VMC plans to introduce new routes and extend services up to 20km beyond municipal limits into Vadodara Urban Development Authority (VUDA) areas.“The first phase will have 50 buses, out of which 30 are being launched now and the remaining 20 are arriving from Delhi. The second phase will add 100 buses and the third phase another 100, taking the total fleet to 250 e-buses,” said municipal commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu.“The routes and ticketing systems are ready. With 250 buses, we will be able to add more routes and expand services beyond the city limits as well,” added the municipal commissioner.Amenities in the buses include digital audio announcement systems, wheelchair ramps and reserved seating for women, senior citizens and persons with disabilities. Four seats have been earmarked for women, one for differently-abled passengers and two for senior citizens.“The entire infrastructure should be ready by December, and all 250 buses will be on the roads by then,” stated Mahesh Babu.A charging station is operational at Gotri while another facility is being readied at Nizampura. Initial services will be managed from these two locations while additional charging infrastructure in the north and south zones is under development.The launch comes after VMC recently reconstituted the special purpose vehicle (SPV) board set up to implement the PM-eBus Sewa scheme.
