Overview
- PMPML has halted plans to buy 25 double-decker electric buses after frequent breakdowns and battery issues in the current e-bus fleet.
- A technical committee with the Central Institute of Road Transport and Pune RTO will examine performance problems before any double-decker purchase proceeds.
- Union ministers HD Kumaraswamy and Murlidhar Mohol held talks in New Delhi on a separate plan to add 1,000 electric buses under the Pradhan Mantri e-Drive scheme.
- The proposal has been submitted to the Ministry of Heavy Industries and to the RBI, with Mohol saying the bank agreed to provide financial assistance and a guarantee pending final central approval.
- Officials cite growing congestion and pollution pressures, while reported figures on PMPML’s existing fleet vary between about 490 electric buses and roughly 2,000 total buses.