CM Nitish Kumar launches electric bus service in Bihar

Kumar flagged off a fleet of such buses at the chief ministers secretariat and took a ride himself to the Vidhan Sabha, a kilometre away, for taking part in the days proceedings.

Patna: Public transport in Bihar is all set to grow environment-friendly and make use of sustainable energy with the launch of electric buses here on Tuesday by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Kumar flagged off a fleet of such buses at the chief ministers secretariat and took a ride himself to the Vidhan Sabha, a kilometre away, for taking part in the days proceedings.

“In the initial phase, we shall be having a fleet of 25 buses. Twelve have already arrived and the remaining shall be available soon.

“I can assure passengers of a very comfortable ride, besides the obvious advantages of reducing dependence on petroleum fuel”, he told reporters.

Notably, the chief minister whose enthusiasm for environmental preservation and sustainable development is well known, had more than a year ago started travelling by electric car.
The buses which come in AC and non-AC variants, would be plied, in the first leg, in cities like Patna, Rajgir and Muzaffarpur.

These would be equipped with facilities like GPS and e- ticketing.

Besides, amenities like mobile travel passes and prepaid cards are also being introduced for the convenience of travellers.
Answering a question if a ride on the electric bus will cost more, the chief minister replied in negative.

The occasion was also marked by inauguration, through remote control, of modern district transport offices at Gaya, Jehanabad, Madhepura and Buxar which have been developed at a total cost of Rs 10.37 crore.

Kumar, who was accompanied by Deputy Chief Ministers- Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi- and a number of other cabinet colleagues, also disclosed that a plan was afoot to make use of ethanol produced at sugar mills as an additive for petrol which would further reduce the dependency on the fuel.

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