3,000 TGSRTC buses to be replaced by electric buses in phases

Minister for Transport Ponnam Prabahkar on Sunday said Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has resolved to replace the existing fleet of 3,000 buses operated in the GHMC limits with electric vehicles.

Accordingly, electric buses would be introduced in phases and the required infrastructure would be put in place. The government had earlier put in place a scrapping policy for vehicles older than 15 years, and steps had been taken to establish automated testing centres. The State would join the Vahan Sarathy scheme of the Centre.

New insignia out

Mr. Prabhakar said that, on an average, 20 people were dying to road mishaps in the State daily and that this number must be brought down. The government, therefore, decided to strictly enforce road safety rules. The newly recruited Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspectors, donning uniforms with new insignia, would supervise the enforcement in special vehicles, which would be provided to them.

To a query, he said the government was not against promotions of staff in the Transport Department and that steps had been taken to give promotions to the officers soon.

He made it clear that quality of vehicles is the responsibility of the manufacturer and that there should be no scope for misconceptions about electric vehicles, citing mishaps, which, he said, are rare.

Published - November 17, 2024 07:51 pm IST