Cabinet approves “PM-eBus Sewa”

The Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved a bus scheme “PM-eBus Sewa” for augmenting city bus operation by 10,000 e-buses on PPP model.  

The Scheme would have an estimated cost of Rs.57,613 crore, out of which support of Rs.20,000 crore will be provided by the Central government. The Scheme will support bus operations for 10 years.

What is PM-eBus Sewa?

• The scheme will cover cities of Three lakh and above population as per census 2011 including all the Capital cities of Union Territories, North Eastern Region and Hill States. Under this scheme priority will be given to cities having no organized bus service.

• The scheme will generate 45,000 to 55,000 direct jobs through deployment of around 10,000 buses in city bus operation. 

• The Scheme has two segments:

  • Segment A – Augmenting the City bus services:(169 cities)

  • Segment B– Green Urban Mobility Initiatives (GUMI): (181 cities)

Benefits of PM-eBus Sewa:

• The scheme will promote e-mobility and provide full support for behind-the-meter power infrastructure.

• Cities will also be supported for development of charging infrastructure under Green Urban Mobility Initiatives.

• By 2030, all government cars must be electric. It also intends to phase out all commercial fleets and provide automobiles powered by fossil fuels in every city by 2030.

• This scheme shall also bring in economies of scale for procurement of electric buses through aggregation for e-buses.

• Adoption to Electric mobility will reduce noise and air pollution and curb carbon emission.

• Modal shift due to increased share of bus-based public transportation will lead to GHG reduction.

• The initiative holds the potential to generate direct employment opportunities and help in upskilling the existing resources.

• This scheme will also introduce economies of scale for the procurement of electric buses by leveraging aggregation for e-buses.