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Delhi will receive more than 1,000 electric buses this month, Transport Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh said. Singh, in an interview with PTI, said Delhi's transport sector is currently operating at a loss of Rs 235 crore. The minister said the government is working on a recovery plan and aims to turn the sector profitable within a year. "This month, we will bring more than 1,000 electric buses to Delhi," Singh said. Singh, who is among the six cabinet ministers in Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's government, took oath on February 20 after the BJP formed a government in Delhi for the first time in 26 years. Appointed as the minister for transport, health, and other departments, Singh emphasised the need to make Delhi's transport system more accessible and convenient for the public. "We need to improve public transport so that people rely less on private vehicles. Our first step will be to introduce electric buses in Delhi, followed by further enhancements to strengthen the transport netwo
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that over 1,200 electric buses provided by the central government are running in the national capital as part of the wider efforts to reduce carbon footprint. He cited the programme to promote rooftop solar panels as another initiative to this effect. Modi made the remarks during an interaction with students at the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan (old Parliament building) where dignitaries, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge besides the prime minister, paid tributes to iconic freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose on his birth anniversary. When Modi asked a student which slogan of Bose motivates her most, she cited "Give me blood and I promise you freedom", according to an official statement. She said Bose demonstrated true leadership by prioritising his country above all else and this dedication continues to inspire the students greatly. It motivates her to reduce the carbon footprint of the nation, which is a part of the ...
The civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking wants its fleet to have more than 50 per cent electric buses by 2025-26 and then raise the number to 8,000 in the subsequent years. In a release issued during the day, the metropolis' premier road transport undertaking said it has set an ambitious goal to have 100 per cent zero-emission electric bus fleet by 2026-27. An order has been placed for 2,650 single-decker electric buses, it added. On Thursday, BEST general manager Anil Diggikar presented the undertaking's Rs 9439.56 crore budget to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation commissioner and administrator Bhushan Gagrani for 2025-26. "In the Rs 1 lakh surplus budget, BEST's estimated deficit is of Rs 2086.33 crore, as its electric supply wing is estimated to get a profit of Rs 46.18 crore, but the transport wing is estimated to face a deficit of Rs 2131.51 crore. Capital expenditure for 2025-26 is expected to be Rs 1849.24 crore, while showing an expected
A body of private bus operators in West Bengal has urged the state transport department to allow its members whose 15-year-old vehicles need to be scrapped by August to opt for a public-private-partnership model in which they can run state-owned buses against a monthly payment. The association sent a letter to Transport Minister Snehasis Chakraborty on Tuesday to allow such operators to opt for the PPP model, known as Bus Franchise Operators (BFOs), on a bigger scale and save them from financial losses, Joint Council of Bus Syndicate General Secretary Tapan Banerjee told PTI. In compliance with a Calcutta High Court order, 15-year-old buses and other commercial vehicles are required to be phased out from city roads. The buses, which hit roads in 2009 or 2010 will stop running in 2024 or 2025. Banerjee said that as part of the PPP model, private operators can run non-operating state-owned buses and pay Rs 14,000 a month to the transport corporation concerned. Already private operat
The Biden administration is suggesting that additional tariffs could be put in place if the Chinese makers of electric vehicles try to move their production to Mexico to avoid newly announced import taxes. President Joe Biden on Tuesday directed the office of the U.S. Trade Representative to impose a total tariff in excess of 102% on Chinese EVs, as well as directing new tariffs on other products including steel, aluminum, computer chips and solar cells. But Chinese EV company BYD has previously indicated that it was looking at factory sites in Mexico for the Mexican market, creating a possible loophole to avoid the expanded tariffs. Asked at the White House news briefing about new tariffs should Chinese companies launch production in Mexico, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said, Stay tuned. Tai said that additional tariffs would require a separate pathway from the Section 301 review of the Trade Act of 1974. That four-year review led to the tariffs on $18 billion worth of
Electric vehicle leasing and lifecycle management platform Alt Mobility on Thursday said it has raised USD 6 million (nearly Rs 50 crore) in a funding round co-led by Shell Ventures, Eurazeo, EV2 Ventures and Twynam. UC Inclusive, Piper Serica, Pitchright and LetsVenture also participated in the round, which is a mix of equity and venture debt, the company said in a statement. The capital will be used for hiring engineering team to scale its Electric Vehicle (EV) asset management platform FleetOS, it added. It will also be used for setting up new verticals for fleets including drive-to-own model, parametric insurance, fleet depots and battery refurbishment unit, the company said. Besides, Alt Mobility said it plans to expand its presence in over 20 cities aiming to achieve an (Assets Under Management) AUM of USD 100mn in the next two years.