MTC to procure 500 e-buses including 400 non-AC ones
According to the tender, the e-buses would be deployed in the six depots - Vysarpadi, Perumbakkam, KK Nagar, Poonamallee, Tondiarpet and Perambur.
MTC had floated bids for procuring 100 electric buses under the KfW-funded project. (File)
CHENNAI: Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) has floated to procure 500 low-floor electric buses including 400 non-AC and 100 AC buses under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) basis.
The 500 e-buses would be procured under the World Bank-funded Chennai City Partnership: the Chennai Sustainable Urban Services Program in the first phase.
In the next phase, it would procure another 500 e-buses.
Electric buses proposed to be procured will be operated and maintained by the private company.
In other words, the electric buses will be operated under a public-private-partnership model wherein the drivers will be provided by the company while the conductors by the MTC.
The technically qualified company would be selected based on the cost per km charge quoted by them.
The company will operate the electric buses from one point to another at a tariff fixed based on a per km basis.
According to the tender, the e-buses would be deployed in the six depots - Vysarpadi, Perumbakkam, KK Nagar, Poonamallee, Tondiarpet and Perambur.
Earlier, MTC had floated bids for procuring 100 electric buses under the KfW-funded project.
Those low-floor AC buses would be deployed at Tambaram, Broadway, Thiruporur and Central.
MTC currently operates a fleet size of 3436 diesel buses on 659 routes and caters to more than 33.60 lakh passengers daily handling operations through 32 depots.