Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday flagged off 97 high-tech electric buses from the Rajghat Depot. These electric buses were formally inducted into Delhi’s public bus fleet at a ceremony held at Rajghat Depot-II.

One bus will need only 42 minutes to go from zero to full charge.

The Chief Minister also announced that 8,000 e-buses are in the pipeline to arrive by 2025 and by November 2023, Delhi will have the highest number of e-buses in India, totalling 1,800.

Kejriwal said: “We are phasing out old-polluting buses and replacing them with electric buses. We have developed world-class education and healthcare models in Delhi. It is now time to transform Delhi’s transport sector into a model for the world to reckon with. Many countries have very modern transport systems. We will take a page out of their book and develop the most effective and efficient transport model in Delhi.”

A total of 153 e-buses are already plying on the roads of Delhi. The new fleet of 97 will take the number to 250; 50 more to be added by September, he said.

The Chief Minister said that by November 2023, 1500 more electric buses will be acquired to take the number of e-buses to 1800. He said Delhi will soon boast of the highest number of electric buses in any Indian city.

Kejriwal said that by the end of 2025, the number of buses in Delhi will increase to 10,380 of which about 80 per cent – 8180 – will be electric buses.

At present, 7,373 buses are running in Delhi including DTC and cluster buses. This is the highest number of buses in the fleet of the Transport Department in the history of Delhi.

He said that charging stations have been established in three depots and by 2023, 55 depots will be electrified. By 2025, 18 thousand charging points will be ready in Delhi, he added.

Kejriwal said that 11 women have been inducted as bus drivers in Delhi. In the coming times, 200 more women will be trained and inducted as drivers.

At the same time, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said, “At present, the share of electric buses in the public transport fleet is 34 per cent. By 2025, and after the arrival of 7,930 new buses, the share of electric buses will increase to 80 per cent.”