Hubballi Dharwad was supposed to get 50 Electric buses under Phase 2 of the Central government’s FAME India Scheme. But NWKRTC is yet to receive them.
Back in August 2019, to give a push to clean mobility in public transportation, the central government had approved the sanction of 5595 Electric buses to 64 cities.
Hubballi Dharwad was also allocated 50 Electric buses in the Subcategory of Smart City. Apart from it, Bengaluru was also allocated 300 Electric buses in the Four Million plus category.
However, there are no signs of Electric buses yet in Hubballi Dharwad. But, Bengaluru has managed to get 75+ Electric buses on road, and few more are expected to hit the roads soon.
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) was also allocated 50 Electric buses to start Intercity operations. The service is likely to begin by the end of the month.
Also read: HDBRTS Feeder buses ‘Chigari Samparka’ launched.
FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric vehicles) scheme was launched in 2015 to encourage EV purchases by providing subsidies under National Electric Mobility Mission.
Ministry of Heavy Industries had invited the Expression of Interest (EoI) from Million-plus cities, Smart cities, State/UT Capitals, and other cities under the Special category.
After evaluating the EoI, the government sanctioned the Electric buses to 64 cities. Electric buses are likely to give a further push to clean mobility in public transportation.