PM-eBus Sewa scheme will significantly boost landscape of cleaner public transport: SMEV

The Union Cabinet approved the Rs 57,613-crore PM-eBus Sewa scheme according to which the central government will give financial support of Rs 20,000 crore for operations of 10,000 electric buses. This is being seen as a major push to improve green public transport in cities.

“SMEV welcomes the Cabinet’s decision to approve the ‘PM-eBus Sewa’ urban bus augmentation scheme, poised to significantly elevate the landscape of cleaner public transportation. Buses being a pivotal source of urban pollution, this decision will help substantially reduce pollution levels and consequential carbon emissions,” Sohinder Gill, Director General, Society of Manufactures of Electric Vehicles said.

The funds will be used for augmenting city bus services and for green urban mobility initiatives, such as setting up charging infrastructure, etc. “PM-eBus Sewa is aimed at augmenting city bus operations in cities, mostly those which don’t have organised bus services. The scheme will be implemented on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis,” Union Minister Anurag Thakur said at a media briefing.

Gill added that this strategic manoeuvre is set to act as a catalyst for the promotion of electric vehicles across diverse urban centres, enabling a more extensive embrace of electric mobility.

“The initiative holds the potential to generate direct employment opportunities and help in upskilling the existing resources. This scheme will also introduce economies of scale for the procurement of electric buses by leveraging aggregation for e-buses,” he said.

The scheme will cover cities having a population of 300,000 and above according to Census 2011. Under this, 169 cities are eligible for PM-eBus Sewa and the final candidates for the electric buses will be selected through a competition. Cities with populations of 2–4 million will be eligible for 150 electric buses, while those with populations of 500,000 to 2 million and 3–5 million will get 100 and 50 buses, respectively. For the green urban mobility initiative, 181 cities are eligible to apply, according to Thakur.

Gill said that this much-needed initiative will play an instrumental role in propelling India towards self-reliance, environmental stewardship, and its envisioned status as a hub for electric vehicles. “I believe two-wheeler mobility is one more of such area that is used by masses and its electrification can become a significant contributor to the EV mission of India,” he adds.

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