Tirupati to get 300 e-buses

Visakhapatnam: Tirupati is set to receive a significant boost in sustainable urban transport as the Union govt's Convergence Energy Services Limited, a subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), has issued a fresh tender for 3,604 electric buses. Of these 3,604 buses, 300 have been earmarked for Tirupati. Prior to this fresh allocation, the Centre had already sanctioned 750 electric buses for Andhra Pradesh, which are expected to be deployed across major urban centres including Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. The initiative is part of India's push towards large-scale electrification of public transport under flagship schemes such as the PM e-Bus Sewa and the PM e-Drive schemes.For Tirupati, the introduction of 300 electric buses is expected to transform urban and peri-urban connectivity, reduce noise and air pollution, and improve the passenger experience in this important religious and tourism hub. In the prior allocation, the APSRTC has already initiated implementation steps, including letters of award and agreements with selected operators, enabling a faster rollout of electric buses across the state. This fresh round is part of a larger national aggregation effort under PM E-DRIVE, under which tenders have already been issued for 13,800 of the total 14,028 sanctioned buses. CESL and EESL CEO Akhilesh Kumar Dixit, said that the programme is designed to make public transport cleaner, more efficient, and economically viable through competitive aggregation and standardised procurement.