Hyderabad: Telangana Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Tuesday flagged off 60 electric buses from the Kukatpally depot, as the state pushes ahead with its plan to build a greener, less-polluted public transport network in Hyderabad.
The event was organised by the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC). Speaking on the occasion, Prabhakar said the state currently runs 960 electric buses, of which 545 operate within Hyderabad city. An additional 2,200 electric buses are in the pipeline under a central government scheme, he said, adding that the government aims to have the full fleet of 3,000 electric buses operational by 2027.
He said deploying 3,000 electric buses could cut carbon dioxide emissions by 600 tonne, and that the push for electric vehicles was specifically aimed at preventing Hyderabad from going the way of Delhi in terms of air pollution.
The TGSRTC currently runs a total fleet of 10,000 buses and serves 3.5 million passengers daily across the twin cities, the minister said.
Prabhakar also announced that a new bus depot would come up in KPHB, following a request from the local MLA, and directed officials to seek a five-acre plot from the Housing Board for the facility.
On employee welfare, Prabhakar said senior TGSRTC officials would hold monthly grievance meetings with staff and that trade union elections would be held shortly.
Under the state’s Mahalakshmi Scheme, women passengers have used 310 crore free tickets so far, the minister said.
