First batch of e-buses set to roll out in June
electric buses
, with 120 scheduled to be operated in the first week of June. These low-floor buses, to be operated from the revamped Vyasarpadi depot, mark the city's shift towards greener public transport.The electric fleet will be run by
OHM Global Mobility
, a subsidiary of Ashok Leyland, under a gross cost contract (GCC) model.
The initial rollout will serve routes in and around Vyasarpadi, including 46G (MKB Nagar-Koyambedu), 2A (Anna Square-Kannadasan Nagar), and 37G (Kannadasan Nagar-Iyyappanthangal). The Vyasarpadi fleet will consist of 40 non-air-conditioned buses.The second batch, comprising 135 buses from Perumbakkam depot, will include 55 air-conditioned buses, with the rest being non-A/C.
The depots at Poonamallee (45 A/C, 80 non-A/C), Central (100 A/C, 45 non-A/C), and Tondiarpet (23 A/C, 75 non-A/C) have also undergone infrastructure upgrades to support electric bus operations. "Each depot now has space allocated for charging stations and maintenance yards," said T Prabhushankar, MTC managing director.While each bus costs between 1.2 crore and 1.5 crore, MTC did not purchase them outright. Instead, under the GCC model, it signed an agreement with OHM Mobility to supply and operate the buses on routes assigned by MTC. The transport corporation will retain fare collection revenue and pay OHM a fixed rate per kilometre. All technical operations, including driving, maintenance, and repairs, will be handled by OHM's crew.For commuters in the city's suburbs, particularly along the northern and western stretches, this rollout is expected to replace old, worn-out buses. Shankaran A, a resident-activist from Maangadu, said, "Most of the new blue buses are deployed inside the city where ticket collection is high, while older buses are shifted to the outskirts."
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Time of India
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Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Management Digital Marketing PGDM Cybersecurity MCA others Data Analytics Degree Technology MBA Operations Management Data Science healthcare Artificial Intelligence Design Thinking Project Management Finance Data Science Others Healthcare Leadership Public Policy CXO Product Management Skills you'll gain: Duration: 9 Months IIM Calcutta CERT-IIMC APSPM India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK GMPBE India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK General Management Programme India Starts on undefined Get Details As per industry estimates, India has more than 1,700 GCCs as of FY24, with roughly two new centres being established every week. The sector generates $64.6 billion in revenue and employs about 1.9 million people, with more than 82,000 of these jobs being in tier-II and III cities. Tier-1 cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai continue to be the primary bases. Emerging cities have around 7% of India's GCCs in 2024, up from 5% in 2019. The government in the February budget announced a framework "as guidance to states for promoting Global Capability Centres in emerging tier 2 cities", focused on enhancing availability of talent and infrastructure, building bylaw reforms, and mechanisms for collaboration with industry. There is also a rise in mid-market firms looking to India to set up GCCs, with over 120 such firms expected over the next year, as per ANSR. Research firm Everest Group expects 75% of the 1,200-1,250 new GCCs in India in the next five years to be small and mid-sized firms. "We are likely to see a convergence between the two trends-tier-2 and tier-3 cities attracting GCCs, and mid-market companies choosing India as a strategic delivery location," said Rohan Lobo, partner, Deloitte. Currently, many mid-market firms are initially gravitating toward established tier-1 hubs due to the comfort of ecosystem maturity, Lobo said. However, there is a growing case for a more distributed approach. Talent and costs Digitally skilled talent in tier-2 cities grew over 25% over the past two years, according to a Nasscom-Zinnov report. These locations also see 20-30% lower attrition compared to the 15.2% attrition in tier-1 hubs. From an operational lens, companies can save around 25% on employment costs by setting up in emerging cities due to lower real estate prices, reduced overheads, and sustainable compensation expectations, the report said. Take silicon to systems design solutions firm Synopsys, for example, which has a GCC in Bhubaneswar. 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