Belagavi: Soon the electric buses will run between Belagavi-Dharwad route. If everything goes well, it will be a reality in a month. The electric buses will start plying in the Silicon city Bengaluru by the end of February.
After studying the success and failure of this pilot project, the Karnataka State Road Transportation Corporation(KSRTC) will expand this project to the other cities of the state. In the second phase, the electric buses will run between Udupi-Mangaluru, Belagavi-Hubballi-Dharwad cities. This bus will travel for 200 kilometres non-stop once charged.
KSRTC has planned to launch 300 electric buses in Karnataka step by step and it will start from Bengaluru from this month. This project will be run by KSRTC and private company. The KSRTC officials have already invited tenders for the same and soon the comparative company will be awarded the tender to supply the electric buses.
The central government has also shown interest to purchase the electric buses to make the public transportation eco-friendly now onwards. Therefore, it has sanctioned the required funds for this ambitious project of Karnataka. Though these buses are not for the long routes, these buses will run for at least 200 to 300 kilometres distance. These buses will contribute to reducing pollution in the country.
The state government has planned to expand this project to all the cities of the state. The profit earned by these buses will be shared on 60:40 ratio. The Deputy Chief Minister, transportation minister Laxman Savadi has confirmed of running the electric buses by February end.