Covid defers UT’S plan to shift to electric CTU buses

CHANDIGARH: The city’s bid to transition from fossil fuel to renewable sources of energy has received the corona jolt.

Facing a fund crunch in the wake of the pandemic, the UT administration has stalled the shifting of the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking bus fleet from diesel to electric for the current financial year at least.

The plans, set in motion last year, to buy 40 electric buses for the CTU local fleet has been suspended for the current financial year. The medium sized (9m) battery-operated buses were planned to be procured on the gross cost-contract model.

Confirming the development, Uma Shankar Gupta, director transport, said, “For the time being the project has been deferred. There were financial constraints in view of the pandemic.”

The addition of electric buses to the CTU fleet is a long-term plan for a greater environmentally-friendly public transport system. The transport department plans to phase out ordinary buses after the full cycle is completed.

THE PLAN

As per the plan, all ordinary buses will be replaced with electric buses in time. There are around 400 buses, and nearly half of these are nearing completion of their operational life.

The administration had even floated tenders for the buses. After failing to procure electric buses in its previous two attempts, the administration received two bids in the third tender it had floated in January this year. The new buses were to be made operational by September, but the pandemic hit.