Delhi LG, CM flag off 500 electric buses

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged off 500 electric buses here on Thursday, taking the number of such buses in the national capital to 1,300. "Delhi now has 1300 buses, which is the highest in any city in India. We have to improve the transport sector," Kejriwal told reporters.

In a post on X, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said, "Congrats Delhi!!! We're celebrating another huge milestone today! Flagged off 500 new E-buses along with Hon'ble CM @ArvindKejriwal and Hon'ble @LtGovDelhi. Success is never overnight, it is a guaranteed result of Consistency! We are yet again leading the way with a record 1300 e-e-buses." Before the Thursday addition, 800 electric buses had been plying on Delhi roads since January 2022.

These buses have covered a distance of more than 42 million kilometres and cut more than 34,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide so far, an official said.

By 2025, Delhi will have a total of 10,480 buses with electric ones making up 80 per cent of the fleet. This will help cut 4.67 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, according to the official.

The new buses have said to be accessible, air-conditioned, emit zero smoke and noise, and are equipped with GPS, CCTVs and panic buttons.