TG govt to set up EV depots with Green fee fund boost

Hyderabad: The State government decided to replace thousands of diesel-powered RTC buses with electric buses by shifting diesel vehicles outside the Outer Ring Road (ORR). 265 EV buses were already pressed into the service in the city and another 275 EVs will run on the city roads in the next 3 months. A fleet of 2,800 EVs will be brought in to the services in the next three years in Hyderabad city. The TGSRTC was entrusted with the responsibility of the construction of the required EV depots and high-tension power line connections. Since the development the infrastructure required huge funds, the RTC mobilize funds in the form of ‘green fee’.

Currently the RTC is running 2,926 diesel buses and 265 EVs in Hyderabad jurisdiction. Each diesel bus emits 2.15 kg of carbon emissions into the air per day. RTC buses across the city are releasing 600 tonnes of carbon emissions into the atmosphere every day. These old diesel buses are making a lot of noise which causing a lot of noise pollution. The government is removing all these buses and introducing EVs to reduce noise and air pollution.

It is estimated that it required Rs 1,000 crore for RTC to purchase 2,800 electric buses, construction of the necessary charging stations and the installation of high-tension power connection to the stations. In the city, the RTC has decided to collect a minimum of Rs. 5 and a maximum of Rs. 10 from passengers in the form of green fee on tickets. The RTC is estimating that the RTC will collect Rs. 110 crore per year and Rs. 220 crore in two years through green fee.

The cost of HT connection at each depot is about Rs. 10 crore. The RTC will have to bear a burden of Rs. 392 crore for developing HT connections to all depots in the city. The RTC earns only Rs. 220 crore through green fee. However, the RTC is ready to bear that burden. In addition to this, the cost of purchasing buses will fall on the RTC.