Admn announces 95 more e-buses for city but first lot yet to roll out

Bhopal: Bhopal will get 95 more electric buses in a second phase even as the first batch of 100 is slated to roll out only by mid-2026, with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in Delhi recently approving the expansion, according to sources. The move signals an aggressive push for clean transport, though the city's initial fleet is still months away from hitting the streets.The first fleet of 100 electric buses for Bhopal is part of the Pradhan Mantri e-Bus Sewa scheme, under which six Madhya Pradesh cities are slated to receive e-buses.The plan is meant to plug gaps in the city's public transport network and provide a cleaner alternative as metro services begin, with officials seeing e-buses as crucial feeder links. For now, however, Bhopal's bus system is struggling. Over 250 city buses have gone off the roads in the past two years, leaving about a dozen bus routes without dedicated service. Bhopal City Link Limited (BCLL), which runs the fleet, has faced disputes with operators and litigation, further weakening services. Work on the e-bus infrastructure in Bhopal is advancing. According to BCCL officials, the electrical setup for charging depots is nearly complete, while about 30% of the civil construction—such as platforms, sheds, and passenger facilities—still remains pending.The city is preparing multiple charging points to ensure the first fleet of 100 buses can be deployed smoothly by mid-2026.E-Bus Rollout In Bhopal to Lead Madhya Pradesh's Electric TransitionUnder the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme, six cities in Madhya Pradesh — Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Ujjain and Sagar — will together get 552 electric buses. These will run under a public-private partnership model, approved in February 2024. Bhopal's share is 100 buses in the first phase, with 95 more planned in the second. The state government has set big targets for switching to electric vehicles. By 2030, it wants 40% of new two-wheelers to be electric, 70% of three-wheelers, 15% of four-wheelers, and 40% of buses. All public transport buses and government vehicles are supposed to go fully electric by 2028, and commercial and logistics fleets by 2030.