 "In pics: Delhi kicks off e-bus trial to curb pollution")
In its effort to promote pollution-free public transport, the Delhi government conducted a trial run of its low-floor electric bus and said it is in the process of procuring e-buses to ply on roads by 2019.
The 33-seat air-conditioned low-floor buses come with added safety features such as four CCTV cameras and a panic button for Delhi commuters.
The trial run was flagged off by Transport Minister, Kailash Gahlot and Commissioner of Transport, Varsha Joshi in the presence of senior officials of the department. During the three-month trial, the e-bus will make trips between Ambedkar Nagar and Inderpuri to test its operational feasibility on different road conditions.
The manufacturers claim that the bus may run for over 150-200 km after a full charge within 30 minutes.
Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) has been appointed as the project consultant and is responsible for the procurement of e-buses. They are manufactured by PMI Electro Mobility Solutions in collaboration with a Chinese company Foton.
According to Transport Minister's office, the construction is expected to be completed by June 2019 and the first batch of electric buses are expected to be deployed and fully operational by July 2019.