West Bengal govt to launch 1.2K e-buses in Kolkata in next 2 years

Kolkata, Nov 1 (KNN) The West Bengal government is planning to launch 1,200 electric buses in Kolkata over the next two years, a senior transport official said.

As per reports, Out of the total 1,200 e-buses, 400 will be functional by January 2023.

This initiative is being taken by the state government to tackle the problem of air pollution in the city.

“The transport department is also working to introduce CNG-run buses in the northern and western parts of the state,” the official said.

As per reports, the department will introduce 1,180 buses run by the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) within the Kolkata municipal area over the next two years.

At present, around 80 electric buses are operated in the eastern metropolis, which were acquired under the capex (capital expenditure) model. The new 1,180 buses are being acquired under the opex (operating expenditure) model.

The transport department official said the new CNG-run buses will be acquired by the two other state transport undertakings, (STUs) Durgapur-headquartered SBSTC (South Bengal State Transport Corporation) and Coochbehar-headquartered NBSTC (North Bengal State Transport Corporation).  (KNN Bureau)