Pune: The Board of Directors (BOD) of Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) on Tuesday decided to induct 500 air-conditioned (AC) electric buses (e-buses) into its fleet.
The tender process to buy these e-buses is likely to start next week. It will be completed by December end. These buses will start plying next year.E-buses are being given priority due to serious environmental issues in cities across the country. Accordingly, the e-buses for Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad will be inducted in May. After one-and-a-half months, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has given a green signal for purchasing e-buses. The BOD has approved the purchase.
“For buying e-buses, a plan was submitted to the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT), Bhosari. The CIRT is working as a consultant of PMPML in this process. The officials of the CIRT made a presentation before the board members on Tuesday.
“After a discussion, the CIRT has been asked to prepare the final plan. By the next week, a tender will be floated,” said a senior PMPML official.
Mayor Mukta Tilak, Municipal Commissioners Saurabh Rao and Shravan Hardikar, PMPML CMD Nayana Gunde, PMC Standing Committee President Yogesh Mulik, corporator Mamta Gaikwad and PMPML Director Shiddharth Shirole were present.
Shirole said, “CIRT provided details during the presentation on the e-buses. Later, there was a discussion on various issue, including total cost of the buses, the contract period, the basic amenities and others. The BOD has approved the purchase of 500 e-buses.
The CIRT has been asked to prepare the final plan within a week. The tender process will start in the first week of August. The buses will be purchased in a phased manner. In the first phase, 150 buses will be purchased while 350 will be purchased in the second phase.”
