This has been floated by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) through one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), as a landmark tender to select bus operators to procure, supply and maintain 10,900 electric buses in different cities of India. It is a part of the larger PM e-Drive Scheme, a plan to revolutionize the sphere of public transport by means of eco-friendly and energy-saving ideas.
It is also in the tender that allied electric and civil infrastructure, needed to manage smooth functioning of these e-buses, has to be developed. The model to be used to run the project is the Gross Cost Contracting (GCC), where the buses will be operated by the private operators at a set price, and the fare and routes will be maintained by CESL and relevant governmental groups.
The initiative will play a big role towards realizing the Indian net-zero emissions and attaining better air quality in cities. Electrification of the nationwide public transport and decreasing fossil fuel reliance is a significant milestone, as 10,900 electric buses had been deployed.
The PM e-Drive Scheme, which was earlier called PM e-Bus Sewa, is a government program directly involving the government that aims at decarbonizing public mobility with respect to the introduction of electric buses into metropolitan cities and tier-2/tier-3 cities as well. These mass purchases are indicative of the fact that the government is keen on enhancing the infrastructure of electric vehicles and creating a healthy ecosystem of clean energy transportation.
The New Delhi issued his tender by welcoming the involvement of the private players and bus operators in the evolutionary process. The detailed tender documents and submission guidelines concerning this are available on the CESL procurement portal to interested stakeholders. Through this initiative, urban transport will be modernized; not only that, but it will also build new opportunities in the electric mobility space that will help India in reaching the wider energy transition roadmap.
