Delhi Approves 2,800 Electric Buses Under PM E-DRIVE
ECONOMY & POLICY

Delhi Approves 2,800 Electric Buses Under PM E-DRIVE

The Delhi Cabinet has approved the induction of 2,800 air-conditioned, low-floor electric buses under the first phase of the Centre's PM E-DRIVE scheme, with the first vehicles expected from April 2027. The fleet is expected to be integrated into the city's public transport network by August 2028 and will move the government towards a target of around 14,000 buses by 2028-29. The Centre will provide assistance of up to Rs 3.5 million (mn) for each 12-metre bus and Rs 2.5 million (mn) for every nine-metre bus.

Of the approved buses, 1,400 will be nine metres long and 1,400 will be 12-metre vehicles; the smaller models are for narrow roads and neighbourhood routes while the larger will serve high-demand corridors. Vehicles will feature air-conditioning, CCTV cameras, panic buttons and low-floor access, and routes will be rationalised with the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi to improve deployment and reduce duplication. The buses will operate for the Delhi Transport Corporation under a Gross Cost Contract in which private concessionaires own and maintain vehicles and are paid by the government on a per-kilometre basis.

Service contracts will run for 12 years. Delhi already had about 4,500 electric buses before a further 300 were inducted this month, taking the total close to 4,800, within an overall public-bus fleet of around 7,000. The government plans to retire ageing CNG buses and shift towards a predominantly electric fleet to improve last-mile connectivity.

An experimental Route 753 Ext has been introduced to provide direct connections from Janakpuri, Vikaspuri, Hastsal, Shiv Vihar, Uttam Nagar and Hari Nagar to Mori Gate, Kashmere Gate and the city railway stations. The service will be monitored before decisions on permanent scheduling and frequency. Officials said the expansion aligns with the Centre's energy-security strategy to reduce dependence on imported oil by accelerating electric vehicle adoption.

The Delhi Cabinet has approved the induction of 2,800 air-conditioned, low-floor electric buses under the first phase of the Centre's PM E-DRIVE scheme, with the first vehicles expected from April 2027. The fleet is expected to be integrated into the city's public transport network by August 2028 and will move the government towards a target of around 14,000 buses by 2028-29. The Centre will provide assistance of up to Rs 3.5 million (mn) for each 12-metre bus and Rs 2.5 million (mn) for every nine-metre bus. Of the approved buses, 1,400 will be nine metres long and 1,400 will be 12-metre vehicles; the smaller models are for narrow roads and neighbourhood routes while the larger will serve high-demand corridors. Vehicles will feature air-conditioning, CCTV cameras, panic buttons and low-floor access, and routes will be rationalised with the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi to improve deployment and reduce duplication. The buses will operate for the Delhi Transport Corporation under a Gross Cost Contract in which private concessionaires own and maintain vehicles and are paid by the government on a per-kilometre basis. Service contracts will run for 12 years. Delhi already had about 4,500 electric buses before a further 300 were inducted this month, taking the total close to 4,800, within an overall public-bus fleet of around 7,000. The government plans to retire ageing CNG buses and shift towards a predominantly electric fleet to improve last-mile connectivity. An experimental Route 753 Ext has been introduced to provide direct connections from Janakpuri, Vikaspuri, Hastsal, Shiv Vihar, Uttam Nagar and Hari Nagar to Mori Gate, Kashmere Gate and the city railway stations. The service will be monitored before decisions on permanent scheduling and frequency. Officials said the expansion aligns with the Centre's energy-security strategy to reduce dependence on imported oil by accelerating electric vehicle adoption.

Related Stories

Gold Stories

Next Story
Real Estate

L&T Wins Mega Order for India’s Largest NVIDIA B300 AI Factory

Larsen & Toubro (L&T), through Vyoma.AI’s AI infrastructure subsidiary LTN Compute, has secured a mega order to develop what the company describes as India’s largest single-cluster AI infrastructure facility. The NVIDIA B300 AI Factory will support US-based AI cloud company Together AI’s platform for large-scale inference, fine-tuning and training workloads.The integrated AI Factory will be hosted at Vyoma.AI’s Chennai data centre campus and will have a capacity of 10,000 NVIDIA B300 GPUs. The platform will combine hyperscale data centre infrastructure, accelerated computing, h..

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

Autodesk Elevates Nikhil Bagalkotkar to Lead AEC in India, SAARC

Autodesk has elevated Nikhil Bagalkotkar as Head – Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC), India and SAARC, with immediate effect.In his new role, Bagalkotkar will lead Autodesk's AEC business strategy across the region and drive adoption of the company's Design and Make platform. He will also focus on promoting digital design and construction technologies to help customers accelerate innovation and deliver more sustainable and resilient infrastructure.Bagalkotkar will be responsible for expanding Autodesk's AEC business, strengthening customer and partner engagement, and accelerat..

Next Story
Real Estate

Listed Developers' Pre-Sales Seen Rising 22.3 Per Cent in FY27

India's leading listed residential developers are expected to sustain strong sales momentum in FY27, with combined pre-sales of 11 major players projected to rise 22.3 per cent year-on-year, according to an analysis by ANAROCK Research & Advisory.Combined pre-sales of the developers are estimated to increase from Rs 1.49 trillion in FY26 to Rs 1.82 lakh crore in FY27. ANAROCK attributed the growth to sustained end-user demand, new project launches and strong execution despite higher property prices, construction costs and global uncertainties.Dr Prashant Thakur, Executive Director and Head..

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement