Delhi Adds 500 New Electric Buses, Total Numbers Touch 1300

Today, the Delhi government flagged off 500 new electric buses. With the addition of 500 new buses, the total number of electric buses in the national capital touched 1300, the largest number of buses in any city. 

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attended the flagging-off event of the new fleet of electric buses. 

“500 new electric buses added to Delhi’s fleet today. In all 1300 electric buses in the city now. Highest electric bus fleet in the country. Having signed contracts for nearly 6000 electric buses, Delhi is poised to be #2 globally by the end of 2024 (sic),” Ashish Kundra, Principal Secretary of Delhi’s transport department, said on a social media site.

Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said, “In Indian history, it is the first time such a large fleet of electric vehicles was flagged off. Delhi has now become the city with the largest coverage of electric vehicles. This will help the Delhi government to fight against pollution.”

The minister also said that per several agencies’ estimates, the running of a CNG bus per kilometer emits around 800 gms of carbon dioxide. “Thus, with a single electric bus running, we can reduce 800 gms of carbon dioxide per km by each electric bus. A single public bus in Delhi travels around 70,000 km in a year. Thus, we can avoid 56 tonnes of carbon dioxide by running a single electric bus,” the minister said. 

The Delhi government said that around 800 e-buses have been running for over 1.5 years. The government is also trying to add more buses into the system to bring more buses to the national capital. Earlier, several studies including studies from Kyushu University in Japan had claimed that with the increased electrification of buses in Delhi, the city can avoid several mortalities and morbidities linked to air pollution. As per studies and estimates, Delhi is among the top polluted cities of the world.