MEERUT: In a bid to bring down pollution levels, the Uttar Pradesh government launched zero-emission electric buses across the state wherein, the transport corporation of Meerut received a total of six e-buses in January this year which became functional from end of February onwards. By April, the city had 30 e-buses. However, the initiative has turned out to be non-profitable.
In the last three months, according to the officials, the e-buses have earned a revenue of only Rs 30 lakh while the Meerut division of UPSRTC has claimed that it has spent Rs 65 lakh in maintenance and other expenses. Even though the transport corporation has claimed that the bus fare is cheap, the commuters are unimpressed.
“In the few months of the services, the company, Meerut City Transport Services Limited (MCTSL), has spent around Rs 68 lakh on these buses, while the earnings have been less than half of about Rs 30 lakh,” said an official of MCTSL.
“In present scenario, we earn only Rs 25 per Km from the e-bus but spend Rs 75 per km. Hence, we are now identifying routes with major traffic to get maximum customers,” said KK Sharma, regional manager, UPSRTC.
The electric bus, which takes around 40 to 45 minutes to charge fully to run a distance of around 130km to 150km, is equipped with GPS and Intelligence Traffic Management System.
