Overview
- Transport Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh announced on Sunday that Delhi will induct 2,800 air-conditioned low-floor electric buses under the Centre’s PM E-DRIVE scheme, split equally between 1,400 nine-metre and 1,400 twelve-metre vehicles.
- The city is also pursuing a separate Phase II allocation of 3,330 more e-buses, which officials say will include 500 seven-metre feeder buses designed for neighbourhood and last-mile routes.
- Delhi currently operates about 4,300 electric buses and plans to raise that number to roughly 7,500 by the end of 2026 while aiming for a total public-bus fleet near 14,000 by 2028–29.
- Officials say depot charging and power upgrades will be built alongside the new fleet because large-scale electrification depends on on-site chargers and strengthened grid connections, and the nine-metre buses’ good performance on feeder routes shaped the vehicle mix.
- For commuters the change should mean more frequent local links in peripheral and underserved areas, and the main items to watch next are tender timelines, depot readiness, and how quickly charging capacity is expanded to prevent service delays.