PM-eBus Sewa has been approved by the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Indian prime minister, for expanding city bus service by 10,000 electric buses(e-buses). The augmentation will be done on the basis of public-private partnership model. The anticipated cost of the scheme is Rs 576.13 billion, out of which the central government will contribute Rs 200 billion in assistance. The bus operations will be receiving support from the scheme for a period of 10 years. The scheme will cover all capital cities of union territories, the North Eastern region, and hilly states, as well as cities with a population of three lakh or more as of the2011 census. Priority will be given to cities with no organised bus service under this plan.
The scheme covers 2 segments. Segment A involves expanding the bus services in 169 cities. The associated infrastructure will enable the establishment of behind-the-meter power infrastructure for e-buses as well as the development of depot infrastructure. While Segment B covers 181 cities for Green Urban Mobility initiatives which includes multimodal interchange facilities, priority, infrastructure, charging infrastructure, NCMC-based Automated Fare Collection Systems, etc. As a part of this segment, states will provide support in the form of providing payments to the bus operators and for running the bus services whereas the government will provide support in the form of subsidies.
Cities will also receive assistance in developing charging infrastructure as a part of this segment. The creation of a resilient supply chain for electric cars as well as the promotion of innovation in the e-mobility industry will both be facilitated by the support for bus priority infrastructure.
