The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a bus scheme “PM-eBus Sewa” to augment city bus operation by 10,000 e-buses on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The scheme will have an estimated cost of Rs.57,613 crore, out of which support of Rs.20,000 crore will be provided by the Central government. The scheme will support bus operations for 10 years.
The scheme will cover cities of three lakh and above population as per the 2011 census, including all the capital cities of union territories, the northeastern region, and hill states. Under this scheme, priority will be given to cities having no organized bus service.
The scheme will generate 45,000 to 55,000 direct jobs through the deployment of around 10,000 buses in city bus operations.
The scheme has two segments:
- Segment A – Augmenting the City bus services: This segment will augment city bus operations with 10,000 e-buses on a PPP model. Associated infrastructure will provide support for the development and upgradation of depot infrastructure and the creation of behind-the-meter power infrastructure (substation, etc.) for e-buses.
- Segment B – Green Urban Mobility Initiatives (GUMI): This segment will envisage green initiatives like bus priority infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, NCMC-based automated fare collection systems, and charging infrastructure.
Under the scheme, states/cities will be responsible for running the bus services and making payments to the bus operators. The Central government will support these bus operations by providing a subsidy to the extent specified in the proposed scheme.
The scheme will promote e-mobility and provide full support for behind-the-meter power infrastructure. Cities will also be supported for the development of charging infrastructure under Green Urban Mobility Initiatives. The support to bus priority infrastructure will not only accelerate the proliferation of state-of-the-art, energy-efficient electric buses but also foster innovation in the e-mobility sector as well as development of a resilient supply chain for electric vehicles. This scheme will also bring in economies of scale for procurement of electric buses through aggregation for e-buses.
Adoption of electric mobility will reduce noise and air pollution and curb carbon emissions. Modal shift due to increased share of bus-based public transportation will lead to GHG reduction.