Hyderabad: Minister K.T. Rama Rao and Chief Secretary A. Shanti Kumari flagged off three electric double-decker buses on Tuesday in the presence of Chevella MP G. Ranjith Reddy, Chandrayangutta MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi and Arvind Kumar, special chief secretary of the municipal administration and urban development department.
With the Formula E race scheduled here on February 11, these buses are to predominantly ply around the race track covering Tank Bund, Necklace Road, Paradise and the Nizam College stretch. After the event, the buses are most likely to be used along a heritage circuit to augment tourism for the city.
Following a request from a citizen on Twitter, Rama Rao had instructed officials to explore the possibility of bringing back double decker buses. Following this, the HMDA placed an order for the buses, out of which three were delivered and inaugurated on Monday. The remaining are expected soon.
Plans are on to extend this fleet up to 20 buses. Costing Rs 2.16 crore apiece, they come with an annual maintenance contract (AMC) of seven years, and a seating capacity of 65 passengers, excluding the driver. The 9.8m long and 4.7m tall buses come with a range of 150 km in a single charge and can be charged fully in 2-2.5 hours.
