Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) announced on Monday that it will operate 550 electric buses in Hyderabad by December this year.
Following the inauguration of 10 e-Garuda buses at the Miyapur X Roads, TSRTC Managing Director VC Sajjanar said, “These buses will operate between Hyderabad and Vijayawada. There will be a bus after every 20 minutes with break time of 20 minutes when the buses will be recharged in Suryapet. These buses can cover approximately 300 kilometers in a single charge. Kudos to Olectra Greentech Managing Director KV Pradeep and his team for manufacturing these buses. In all, 40 other e-Garuda buses will be lauched shortly.”
Speaking of the features of the bus, the Managing Director further said, “It has enough leg room, free wifi service, CCTV cameras, vehicle-tracking system and passenger announcement boards will be added to the bus in the near future.”
Speaking of the future plans, Sajjanar said, “In the next three years, Hyderabad will switch to electric buses. The department is also planning to introduce 10 double- decker buses in the city.” He also said that Garuda is a brand of TSRTC, which it has modified to e-Garuda to distinguish the electric buses.
Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar said, “Telangana State Road Transport Corporation is making eco-friendly AC buses available for the convenience of passengers and it has been a pioneer in the country in introducing e-buses.”
He then flagged off the buses. “Environmental pollution is being reduced due to the use of fossil fuels in densely-populated cities,” he said and appreciated that TSRTC has provided e-Garuda buses in accordance with the Telangana State Electric Vehicle Policy for providing environment-friendly public transport.
He further said, “TSRTC has made a total of 760 super-luxury and AC sleeper buses available in recent times and said that with the arrival of new buses, it is auspicious to reach 10,000 buses again. Electric buses are getting good response from the passengers and appropriate steps are being taken to provide better transport services to reach more people.”
Among those present were Srilingampally MLA Arikapudi Gandhi, TSRTC Chief Operating Officer Dr Ravinder, Joint Director Dr Sangram Singh G Patil, EDs Purushottam, Munishekhar, Company Officers Krishnakanth, Raghunatha Rao, Vijay Kumar, Rangareddy, Hyderabad, Secunderabad RMs Sridhar, Varaprasad and Venkanna.
