City to run electric buses along AC bus routes by 2020

The State government has proposed to purchase 1,890 electric buses for this purpose, which are likely to come into operation from next year.

According to a source, the buses will be allocated to various transport corporations, including the MTC and the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) in Madurai and Coimbatore.

As part of the plan, charging stations will be installed at five depots across the city -- namely Anna Nagar, Adyar, Perumbakkam, Poonamallee and Central.

“During the initial phase, we are planning to operate the buses along the old air-conditioned bus routes. This will be expanded as we keep adding e-buses to the fleet. We are still at an early stage and are yet to operationalise several modalities related to the project,” an MTC official added.

The air-conditioned buses were popular along the IT corridor, including Kelambakkam to Broadway, Kelambakkam to T Nagar, and Kelambakkam to CMBT routes. The other popular routes that the AC buses operated include Red Hills to Vandalur, T Nagar to Kancheepuram, and Broadway to Tambaram.

“MTC had decided long ago that the air-conditioned buses will be replaced by the electric buses. Therefore, we are planning to launch the vehicles along the routes that the AC buses enjoyed patronage,” an official opined.

In 2018, the State government signed with the C-40, a London-based climate change group, to ensure clean transportation system. A C-40 team conducted a thorough study, paving way for the seamless transfer from diesel-run buses to electric buses.