5 days ago
- Automotive
- New Indian Express
First in Tamil Nadu, Chennai gets 120 green buses
CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday flagged off 120 low-floor electric, non-AC buses from the Vyasarpadi Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) depot. This marks the first time that e-buses have been introduced by a state-run transport undertaking (MTC) in Tamil Nadu.
Each electric bus when fully recharged, which takes up to two hours, can be operated for 200 km. The electric buses have been provided with emergency panic buttons at 13 places, 4 surveillance cameras, one mobile charging point for every two seats, and public announcement system.
CM Stalin also inaugurated an electric charging station set up at a cost of Rs 47.5 crore. Aimed at reducing environmental pollution, the new fleet, procured at a cost of Rs 207.9 crore, is part of the Chennai Sustainable Urban Services Program (C-SUSP), a World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)-supported initiative. These ultra-low-floor buses are designed to be accessible for disabled commuters.
1.2K electric buses to be introduced across Chennai
The electric buses feature low-floor seats in the front and high-floor seats in the rear. The floor height of the bus is 400mm, and it can be reduced up to 250mm. Following complaints of poor ventilation in the low-floor buses introduced last year, the MTC has increased the height of the window glass on either side of electric buses to enhance air circulation. It has also introduced a small sliding window for the high-floor seat in the rear.
