Govt to stagger ₹57,613 cr e-bus scheme investment over 7 years

livemint.com:

₹57,613 crore PM-eBus Sewa scheme, but stagger it over a period of seven years and release funds based on the distance travelled by these 10,000 e-buses on a per kilometre basis, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told Mint. “After the buses are tendered, the central government will pay on a per kilometre basis, and will not make an upfront investment for these schemes," said the first person mentioned above, a senior government official, who spoke under the condition of anonymity. “The private sector will operate these buses.

Fares collected will be topped by any further requirements of the state government, by the central government," the person added. The Cabinet has approved last month the ₹57,613 crore PM-eBus Sewa scheme in public-private partnership (PPP) mode, of which the government will provide ₹20,000 crore. Under the 10-year scheme to augment city bus services, 10,000 electric buses will be deployed in 169 cities, prioritizing those lacking organized bus services.

The central government expects the scheme to generate 45,000-55,000 direct jobs. The scheme aims to push green initiatives like bus priority, infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, National Common Mobility Card (NCMC)-based automated fare collection systems, charging infrastructure, among the others, with the help of private sector participation. Under the scheme, while states are responsible for running the bus services and making payments to the bus operators, the centre will support these bus operations by providing subsidies.