Goa’s State-run Transport Corp Gets 2nd Lot of E-buses

Goa’s Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTCL) on Saturday received the second lot of e-buses fitted with features like electronically controlled air suspension, CCTV cameras, and the emergency button to ensure the safety of commuters.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant flagged off these buses during a round table to promote an electric mobility event organised by the Union Ministry of Heavy Industries.

These buses were supplied by the electric bus operator, Evey Trans Private Limited (EVEY).

A company spokesman said EVEY had received the order for electric buses from KTCL in December 2020 for the supply, operation and maintenance of 50, 12-metre electric buses based on a Gross Cost Contract (GCC) / OPEX model for 10 years.

Evey Trans general manager Sandeep Raizada said, “We are happy to announce that we have completed the second lot of inspection and delivered the 12-meter e-buses to the Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL). Evey Trans is already operating 30 buses in Goa. These e-buses will protect Goa’s rich ecology.”

The company spokesman said these air-conditioned buses will have a seating capacity of 48 plus the driver.

“The electronically-controlled air suspension ensures passengers a comfortable ride. The buses are equipped with CCTV cameras, an emergency button to ensure the safety of the commuters and USB Sockets for mobile charging,” he said.

With the objective of boosting adoption of electric vehicles (EV) to at least 30% by 2025, the state government has recently approved the Goa Electric Mobility Promotion Policy (GEMPP) 2021. The policy aims to create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in the sector by 2025.

To give the EV sector a startup thrust, the policy has envisaged incentives — purchase and scrapping incentives, interest subvention on loans, waiver on road tax and registration fees, a wide network of charging stations and swappable battery stations, and publicly owned database of the same.

Additionally, the government will subsidise the first 3,000 two-wheelers, 50 three-wheelers and 300 four-wheelers.