Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal flags off 150 electric buses; free travel for 3 days

Arvind Kejriwal flags off 150 electric buses, Delhi commuters will be able to travel free of cost for three days -- from May 24 to May 26, reports PTI.

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal flags off 150 electric buses from the Indraprastha Depot, commuters get free of cost travel for three days, starting today, an official statement said. The Delhi government aims to launch 2,000 electric buses within a year, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on May 24 after flagging off 150 such buses here.

The chief minister said his government has also allocated Rs 1,862 crore for procuring electric buses over the next 10 years. Kejriwal took a ride in one of e-buses. "We flagged off 150 buses today. One hundred fifty more will be added next month. These are your buses. Please take care of them, don't make them dirty. These buses will reduce pollution in Delhi," he urged people while interacting with reporters.

प्रदूषण के ख़िलाफ़ जंग में दिल्ली ने आज नया अध्याय लिखा है। आज से दिल्ली की सड़कों पर एक साथ 150 इलेक्ट्रिक AC बसें चलना शुरु हो गई हैं। मैंने भी बस में बैठकर सफ़र किया, इसमें सभी आधुनिक सुविधाएं हैं। दिल्ली की शानदार इलेक्ट्रिक बस में एक बार आप भी सफ़र ज़रुर करें।#IrideEbus pic.twitter.com/NGWByo6uIJ — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 24, 2022

In a tweet in Hindi, he said, "Delhi has written a new chapter in its fight against pollution today. From today, 150 electric buses have started plying on Delhi's roads in one go. I travelled in one of them and it has modern facilities. You must also travel in Delhi''s luxurious electric bus."

Asked about the Centre's fund, he said "We are thankful to the Centre. We give them the credit. Work should happen in Delhi." The chief minister claimed that for the time in the history of Delhi, 7200 buses will be plying on the roads of national capital. He also shared that the government also plans to procure 600-700 CNG buses because the manufacturing of electric buses takes time.

The chief minister flagged off the buses from the Indraprastha Depot and boarded one of them to reach the Rajghat Cluster Bus Depot. He was accompanied by Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot and chief secretary Naresh Kumar. The chief minister also recalled the days when he used to travel in buses during the time of India anti-corruption movement.

"During the Andolan days, I used to travel in buses. But the air-conditioning was not strong. Today I travelled in the electric bus. Despite the presence of people, the air conditioning was strong," he said. These buses emit zero smoke, have CCTV cameras, GPS, 10 panic buttons, ramps for differently-abled, etc.

These buses will run on major routes of Delhi, including Route No. 502 between Mori Gate and Mehrauli Terminal and the IP Depot - Connaught Place - Safdarjung - South Extension -Ashram - Jangpura -India Gate route.

The government also urged people to ride its e-buses, take a selfie, and post them with the hashtag #IrideEbus on their Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook handles. The top three entries will have a chance to win an iPad.

The transport department in an official communication on May 23 said, "All the officers and the operational crew of DTC may be informed accordingly and not to insist commuters for purchase of tickets, during the aforesaid period of 03 days in all pure electric buses of DTC."

A DTC official said free travel is being offered to encourage people to promote e-buses. "It's being done to motivate people and to spread awareness about e-buses. With the addition of 150 buses, the e-buses fleet will go up to 152," the official added.

(With inputs from PTI)