922 more BMTC e-buses to hit Bengaluru roads, CM vows to cut congestion

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai Sunday announced that BMTC will get 922 additional electric buses in addition to the 300 being inducted under the Union government's FAME scheme, stressing the need to shift to public transport to reduce congestion.

He was speaking at an event to induct 75 of the 300 large (12-metre long) buses. "The number of vehicles in Bengaluru is going up by 5,000 everyday. If this goes one, vehicles will outnumber the 1.25 crore people in the city. It is true that we can't stop growth. But we need to provide transport facilities on the lines of electricity, road, water and sanitation," the chief minister said.

Karnataka had submitted a proposal to the Centre seeking assistance to lease 1,500 e-buses. "We have got clearance for 922 buses now. The BMTC will have more than 1,200 ebuses," the CM said.

Bommai said there was a need for the four road transport corporations to become self-reliant by bringing efficiency in the management of the resources. "In the last three years, the state government has given Rs 3,000 crore to the corporations. But continuing this is not feasible," he said.

The CM also spoke about the need to reduce pressure on some parts of Bengaluru. "We need to redistribute the resources and people to encourage equal growth of areas other than south Bengaluru, Whitefield or Koramangala. The comprehensive mobility plan will address this problem with an integrated mobility system. We want to see the mode share of public transport increase from the present 30 per cent to 65 per cent or 70 per cent," he added.