Hyderabad, Aug.14 (NSS): The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) management today clarified that there was no truth in the rumours that their depots were being privatised. “We strongly condemn this malicious propaganda being spread by some people to tarnish the image of the company,” the management of the corporation said in a statement.
It made it clear that the corporation was making eco-friendly electric buses available to passengers as per the Central government’s EV policy. “The operations of all buses, including electric buses, in the depots will be carried out entirely under the control of TGSRTC and there is no need to have any doubts about it. As part of the Central Government’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME)-1 scheme, 40 electric AC buses were introduced under the same system in March 2019.
The buses are being operated on the Hyderabad airport route under the name of Pushpak buses under gross cost contract (GCC) mode with Olectra. They are being diverted from Cantonment and Miyapur-2 depots in Hyderabad. Except for the maintenance and charging of the buses, all the operations are being carried out under the aegis of TGSRTC,” it said.
It said in March 2023, under the National Electric Bus Programme (NEBP) of the Central government, 500 inter-city buses were ordered by tender to JBM and added that Of these, 48 e-super luxury buses were currently available. “Of these, 35 have been allotted to Karimnagar-2 depot and 13 to Nizamabad-2 depot. The construction of charging stations required for these electric buses is nearing completion at depots. The TGSRTC management is making arrangements to launch them soon. Also, the company has invited tenders for 550 electric buses in 2023 keeping in mind the transportation needs of the people and prevention of pollution. There are 500 city buses and 50 electric AC buses on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada route. At present, 74 electric buses are plying in the city. There are 10 buses plying in the name of e-Garuda on the Vijayawada route. The corporation is making these electric buses available in a phased manner,” it said.
The management said TGSRTC had been implementing the same EV policy in the use of electric buses across the country since 2019. “Buying electric buses directly is a costly task. In this context, as per the central government’s EV policy, payments are made to the companies on the basis of gross cost contract (GCC) i.e. the kilometers the bus travels. Each depot has different routes like rural, urban etc. Electric buses cannot be played on all routes. The corporation identifies the routes based on the mileage capacity of the electric buses. Every depot has a mix of electric and diesel. Like the private hire buses, all the electric buses run under the TGSRTC. The ticket revenue generated by those buses is directly coming to the organization. It is not true that the depots will go into the private hands. The organization appeals to the staff and the public not to believe this campaign which is being done deliberately by some,” it said.
