- Pallavan Transport Consultancy Services (PTCS), under the transport department, has invited bids for direct supply of e-buses
- Two different e-bus models will be implemented on Tamil Nadu roads soon
According to a report by the Economic Times, the Tamil Nadu government is working on the cost that will be incurred to procure 640 electric buses and setting up 260 charging points for them. It has floated tenders that will close in a week.
As per the report, Pallavan Transport Consultancy Services (PTCS), will works under the transport department, has invited bids for direct supply of e-buses. This will take place under the central government’s FAME II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) scheme.
Two different e-bus models soon in Tamil Nadu
The report said that two different e-bus models will be implemented on Tamil Nadu roads soon. The first one will be nine-metres long and have a seating capacity of 32. The other one will be a 12-metre model. It will be able to accommodate up to 40 passengers at a time.
According to the report, said that previously bids which were floated by Institute of Road Transport (IRT), had mentioned that procurement for the FAME II scheme will be made under gross cost contract (GCC) mode. The new tenders by PTCS for the same scheme does not mention about this mode as per the report.
Gross cost contract mode
In GCC mode, the private operator will own and maintain the buses and charging stations set up at depots. State transport corporation drivers will not operate these buses. As per the report, a transport department official said that GCC mode was chosen to not to put the government at risk as the scheme involves huge amount of money. The government can learn about the emerging technology from private suppliers. The official added that after realising this, private suppliers who applied for IRT’s earlier bids quoted high prices. This forced the state to spend more than the budget.
E-bus costs between Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 2 crore
As per the report, the centre is expected to provide a subsidy of Rs 50 lakh-Rs 55 lakh for each e-bus. The e-bus costs between Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 2 crore. The state will have to pay for the rest from its budget. As per the report, fresh tenders were put out by PTCS to give the the the government an idea about the actual cost and identify which bidders submitted overpriced bids earlier. The official added that after considering the new proposals, cost involved will be worked out and buses will be procured under the GCC model.
