07 August,2024 07:00 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
Central government funds have been received for 86 buses, while funds for 94 are yet to come. Representation pic
In a first, Thane is set to get ten electric double-decker buses in its municipal transport fleet this year. Thane Municipal Transport officials said they were working on the route finalisation process for where these buses can run. "Yes, there is a plan to procure ten electric double-decker buses for Thane. The buses are expected to arrive this financial year itself by March," Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) manager Bhalchandra Behere said.
An official said the Central government has been funding the procurement of electric public transit vehicles under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), and Thane is set to receive about 303 buses. Of these, about 123 have arrived, ferrying 2.3 lakh passengers every day. Another 180 are expected to arrive soon. Regarding the status of the funding, the official said Central government funds have been received for 86 buses, while funds for 94 are yet to come.
The photogallery here
Sources said the buses will be running for the first time in Thane. Asked about the routes that these buses would take, officials said they are currently assessing routes where these buses can operate with the required vertical clearance. The buses are expected to arrive by March 2025. First introduced in Mumbai in 1937 to cope with the growing number of passengers, similar to the red double-decker buses in London, the sheer size and look of the double-decker buses made them very popular from day one. Mumbai now runs electric double-decker air-conditioned buses of the Switch EiV 22 class.
The Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Transport had also been trying to introduce double-decker buses and had taken a bus from BEST for a test run on their roads a few years ago, but there has been no further development since then.
