Convergence Energy Services (CESL) on Thursday announced a tender for 4,675 e-buses under the National Electric Bus Programme (NEBP).
While the nearly ₹5,000-crore worth tender is the second such tender under the NEBP, overall, this is the third tender for e-buses, after the Grand Challenge tender of 5,450 units and a recently concluded tender for 6,465 e-buses (under NEBP), the company, a subsidiary of state-run Energy Efficiency Services (EESL), said.
Aiming to accelerate electric vehicle (EV) adoption and cut down fuel imports, carbon emissions and air pollution, State transport utilities (STUs) in Delhi, Kerala and Telangana will deploy 4,675 e-buses on the basis of a ‘dry lease’, it added.
In a dry lease, the operator provides the buses to the State transport corporations (STCs) without drivers or conductors, who are deployed by the STCs. A dry lease model has been enabled in the NEBP to maintain employment in STCs that have such need, CESL said.
The tender includes three types of e-Buses—9-m standard floor AC, and 12-m low floor and standard floor non-AC & AC electric buses. These will be owned and maintained by service providers for a period of 10 and 12 years, while being operated by the STCs.
Service providers will be paid a monthly fee per bus. Charging infrastructure at depots are to be provided by both parties in clearly demarcated roles and responsibilities, as constructed and standardised in the 2022 Grand Challenge process, said the company.
“This tender is valued at an estimated ₹5,000 crore and primarily involves the cost of the bus. Bidders and STCs alike are mandated and encouraged to employ women and create opportunities for a safe environment for them to work,” CESL said.
The total greenhouse gas emission reduction for 4,675 buses is 34 lakhs tonnes annually with fuel savings of 15 lakh kiloliters every year and a significant reduction in air pollution.
CESL aims to augment the public sector bus fleet with a view of strengthening, modernising and greening public transport in India and the National e-bus Program (NEBP) is the first step towards achieving this vision.
So far, CESL has floated two tenders under phase 1 of NEBP for deployment of electric buses in Delhi, Telangana, Haryana, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka (North-West).
On Monday, the company said that in the first tender under NEBP, the lowest price discovered for a 12-meter bus (intra-city) is ₹54.3 per km and the 12-meter bus (inter-city) is ₹39.8.
Similarly, for a 9-meter bus, the price discovered is ₹54.46 a km and a 7-meter bus is ₹61.92.
The prices do not include a subsidy and are 29 per cent lower than what it costs to operate diesel buses. This tender is for 6,465 e-buses and is valued at over ₹30,800 crore.