BMTC to Get 1,400 Electric Buses by April 2024: Announced by Karnataka CM

Published On: 26 December 2023
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CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy, DK Shivakumar, flagged off 100 non-AC electric buses at the Vidhana Soudha today.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Tuesday that the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is going to add 1,400 new electric buses to its current fleet by April 2024.

Today, CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy, DK Shivakumar flagged off a total of 100 non-AC electric buses at the Vidhana Soudha. After the end of the programme, both CM Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar took a ride in one of the electric buses. CM Siddaramaiah talked with the reporters about the matter and stated that 1,400 new vehicles will be added to BMTC's fleet.

CM Siddaramaiah stated that, "So far, Karnataka women have undertaken 120 crore rides in state transport buses for free since the launch of the Shakti scheme. A total of 40 lakh people travel on BMTC every day. In this, women of all castes, all religions, and all walks of life are travelling for free."

The decision was taken to encourage more people to use public transportation services. Commuters in Bengaluru face traffic issues on a regular basis, and the availability of more buses will ease the travel issues in the city. The government is also aiming to curb spiked pollution levels caused by vehicular emissions. A few months ago, the state government considered vehicle emissions as one of the primary reasons for increased pollution levels.

The chief minister of Karnataka also blamed the BJP government for criticizing its free bus travel scheme launched for women. He said, "Due to our guarantees, the purchasing power of people and the economic activity of the state is also increasing. These schemes save a lot of money for labourers, farmers and women. They use that money for other needs of their family. Thus, the economic power of millions of families is also increasing."

He further added, "About 4.30 crore people of the state are directly benefiting from the government guarantee schemes. By that, the poor and working classes are being brought into the mainstream of economic progress."

The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC)also said in a statement that ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) will be implemented in 10 buses to spread more awareness among the drivers and develop a safer transport system for the passengers. The BMTC stated, "In order to effectively control traffic violation and accident cases caused by drivers, 3,000 drivers are being trained in traffic command and control centre from December with the cooperation of the police department for safe driving and strict adherence to traffic rules."