35,000 buses to go electric by 2030: Karnataka minister

The Karnataka government wants to have 35,000 electric buses by 2030, Transport Minister B Sriramulu told the Assembly on Wednesday.

He was responding to a question by Congress MLA Tanveer Sait who sought details on electric buses in the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).

“There are 35,000 buses. Going forward, given that diesel prices are going up everyday and we’re incurring losses, we want all our buses to become electric by 2030 so that we start making profits. That’s our resolve,” Sriramulu said.

Sriramulu said diesel buses incur a cost of Rs 68.53 per km.

At present, 90 electric buses have been pressed into service in Bengaluru for a 12-year contract under the Smart Cities project. The per-km cost for these buses is Rs 64.67.

Under the union government’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric vehicles (FAME)-II, Sriramulu said BMTC has been given 75 electric buses out of 300. “We hope the remaining buses will be given to us soon,” Sriramulu said. These buses have a per-km cost of Rs 61.90.

Also, an order has been placed for 921 electric buses through the Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL). These buses will incur Rs 54 per km, Sriramulu said.