Bhubaneswar: Odisha government has decided to add 600 electric buses to the fleet of ‘Ama Bus’ service, Housing and Urban Development Department minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra said in Bhubaneswar Friday.
He said that the state requires around 1,000 e-buses to meet its growing demand. Two hundred e-buses will be procured by the state government, while the remaining 400 will be provided by the central government.
In the first phase, 25 e-buses will be deployed in Sambalpur, followed by phased introduction in Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Berhampur and Angul, he said.
“With the rollout of 600 e-buses, Odisha is taking a decisive step towards greener cities and smarter urban transport,” Mohaptra added.
The services will be operated by Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) under its ‘Aam Bus’ initiative, aimed at providing safe, affordable and green transport, the minister further said.
Odisha has already secured the 5th position nationally in e-bus operations, achieving a significant milestone in sustainable mobility with a fleet of 450 e-buses, officials said.
Across the country, 14,329 e-buses are in operation under flagship schemes such as PM-E Bus Sewa and PM-E Drive, from which Odisha is actively benefiting, they said.
PTI
