Hyderabad: Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar launched 60 Electric buses at the Kukatpally depot and said the Telangana government would expand green public transport services by 2027.
The minister inaugurated the buses after lighting the ceremonial lamp at a Telangana State Road Transport Corporation programme. Along with him, Kukatpally MLA Madhavaram Krishna Rao, MLC Naveen, RTC Managing Director Nagi Reddy and Medchal district collector Manu Choudary attended the event.
During the programme, Ponnam Prabhakar said the government was promoting Electric buses to cut pollution levels in Hyderabad. He added that the state wanted to prevent Hyderabad from becoming another heavily polluted metro city.
At present, the state operates 960 electric buses. Of them, 545 EV buses run within Hyderabad city limits. Meanwhile, RTC operates 580 buses under intercity services.
Electric buses to reduce pollution in Hyderabad
The minister said the government would introduce another 2,200 electric buses in Telangana through a central scheme. According to him, 3,000 Electric buses could reduce nearly 600 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
RTC currently operates around 10,000 buses across the state. Among them, nearly 1,000 buses are electric vehicles. As a result, RTC expects lower pollution levels and reduced traffic congestion in urban areas.
Every day, nearly 35 lakh passengers use RTC services in the twin cities. After coming to power, the Congress government introduced several reforms in RTC. In addition, the government started fresh recruitments and inducted new buses into the fleet.
Ponnam Prabhakar said the government remained committed to RTC workers’ welfare. Every second Tuesday, depot managers, regional managers and senior officials discuss workers’ problems. Besides this, RTC will soon conduct union recognition elections and hold talks with union representatives.
The minister said women had so far used 310 crore tickets under the Mahalakshmi scheme. At the same time, the government was encouraging women to become bus owners apart from offering free travel.
Responding to a request from the Kukatpally MLA, the minister announced a new depot at KPHB. He also directed RTC and district officials to write to Housing Board authorities for allotment of five acres for depot expansion.
As Hyderabad continues to expand with new residential colonies, the government is strengthening public transport services. The minister added that RTC would soon run EV buses extensively in Kukatpally to develop the area into a pollution-free zone.