Mysuru to get 100 electric buses for its intra-city fleet

Mysore/Mysuru: A team from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) implementing the ‘PM-eBus Sewa’ project will visit Mysuru soon to oversee the implementation of the project where Mysuru is getting 100 new electric buses for its intra-city fleet.

Confirming this to Star of Mysore this morning, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) Mysuru Divisional Controller B. Srinivas said that the team will assess the feasibility, number of e-buses to be released in phases, charging stations and other allied infrastructure. “Mysuru is growing and there are talks to include 30 to 40 villages around Mysuru to the city limits and the plan is to ensure eco-friendly mobility to all these places,” he said.

“The dates of the Central team’s visit is not confirmed yet but we will prepare a presentation to the team regarding the routes, allocation of buses, operators and maintenance staff and charging points at Sathagalli, Vijayanagar, Kuvempunagar and Bannimantap Depots in addition to the already functional charging point at Sub-Urban Bus Stand,” he said. 

Cities such as Mysuru, Belagavi, Kalaburagi, Hubballi-Dharwad and Mangaluru, falling within the 5 to 10 lakh population category, will each receive 100 buses while Ballari, Vijayapura, Davangere, Shivamogga and Tumakuru with population below 5 lakh will be allocated 50 buses each.

A boon to Mysuru

If Mysuru secures the allocation of 100 e-buses, it will significantly alleviate the KSRTC’s burden, addressing the increased demand stemming from the ‘Shakthi’ initiative, offering free travel to women on KSRTC buses. Furthermore, the new buses will enable the phasing out of rickety buses, thereby enhancing the overall travel experience for passengers. The Mysuru Division has already planned to phase out 50 buses that are older than 15 years.

In August this year, the Union Cabinet approved the PM-eBus Sewa scheme, allocating an estimated cost of Rs. 57,613 crore.

The PM-eBus Sewa Scheme comprises two segments: Segment A involves augmenting city bus services in 169 cities with 10,000 e-buses on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, addressing infrastructure development and power supply needs.

Segment B, known as Green Urban Mobility Initiatives, includes 181 cities promoting green initiatives like bus priority, multimodal interchange facilities, National Common Mobility Card (NCMC)-based automated fare collection systems, and charging infrastructure.

Under this scheme, States and cities will manage bus services and payments to operators, with the Centre offering subsidies to support these operations. Mysuru falls under Segment B, aligning with the initiative’s green objectives to reduce pollution and carbon emissions from buses,                                                  fostering a wider adoption of electric mobility in urban centres.

Buses are a major contributor to urban pollution, therefore the move will significantly lower pollution levels and associated carbon emissions. This scheme will enable promotion of electric vehicles across various urban centres, enabling a more extensive embrace of electric mobility.