Chennai: The government has proposed to operate electric buses in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai soon, said transport secretary J. Radhakrishnan, on Friday.
Addressing a board meeting here, Radhakrishnan said the government is making elaborate arrangements to operate electric buses in the above said cities.
Officials from MTC, SETC and TNSTC, Villupuram, Salem, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Madurai and Kumbakonam took part in the three-day board meeting held here, presided over by J. Radhakrishnan.
A press release stated that the officials discussed on steps to be taken by the corporations to implement the recently schemes announced by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami under Rule 110 in the Assembly. They discussed on steps to be taken to improve the functioning of the corporations and redressing grievances of employees including their promotions. They also discussed steps to be taken to implement schemes announced by the transport minister in the budget session in the Assembly.
The release stated that the government introduced 3,881 buses at a cost of Rs 1,160 crore for the past two-and a half years. Many of these buses are fitted with ACs and toilet facilities. Passengers are attracted to these high-tech vehicles.
After the death of two employees in Vadapalani bus depot due to an accident involving an MTC bus recently, the government has decided to improve the facilities in the bus depots and the department has ordered a safety audit in these depots. Nearly 1.20 lakh employees are working in 322 depots in these transport corporations across the state.
In the first phase, the government has planned to develop 16 of the total 32 depots in Chennai under the Smart City project.
The government has been operating 10 buses for the benefit of differently-abled persons. The government has also planned to introduce buses exclusively for differently-abled persons, enabling them to climb on to these buses with their wheel-chairs.
In an effort to protect the environment, the government has in the first phase planned to introduce electric buses in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai. The government has signed a MoU with C-40, Clean Bus Declaration. As part of this MoU, C40 will assist the state in creating a roadmap for electric buses. Regarding this, transport department officials conducted several rounds of meeting with the PWD and Tangedco officials.
