NEW DELHI: The Centre on Wednesday gave nod to PM-eBus Sewa-Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) scheme with an allocated budget of Rs 3,435.33 crore for the procurement and operation of e-buses by
Public Transport Authorities
(PTAs).
The scheme aims to support the deployment of more than 38,000 electric buses (e-Buses) from 2024-25 to 2028-29. It will also operate e-buses for a period of up to 12 years from the date of deployment.
Currently, most of the buses operated by Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) run on diesel or CNG, causing adverse environmental impacts and therefore it will also lead to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and also reduce the consumption of fossil fuels.
E-buses are environmentally friendly and have lower operational costs. However, it was anticipated that Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) would face difficulties in procuring and operating them due to their high initial cost and lower revenue generation from operations.
This initiative seeks to encourage private-sector participation and facilitate the adoption of e-buses.
This scheme resolves the issue by ensuring timely payments through a dedicated fund. In the event of payment defaults by public transport authorities,
CESL
, the implementing agency, will cover the necessary payments from the scheme’s funds, which will later be recovered from the PTAs, State, or UTs.
