WHY IN NEWS ?

  • Recently, the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved "PM-eBus Sewa" for augmenting city bus operations and priority has been given to cities having no organised bus service.

ABOUT PM e-BUS SEWA:

  • The Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved a bus scheme “PM-eBus Sewa” for augmenting city bus operation by 10,000 e-buses on PPP model.
  • The Scheme would have an estimated cost of Rs.57,613 crore, out of which support of Rs.20,000 crore will be provided by the Central government.
  • The Scheme will support bus operations for 10 years.
  • Under this scheme, city bus operations will be done on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
  • The scheme will cover cities with 3 lakhs and above population and priority will be given to cities not having organised bus services.

The Scheme has two segments:

  • Segment A – Augmenting the City bus services:(169 cities)
  • The approved bus scheme will augment city bus operations with 10,000 e-buses on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
  • Associated Infrastructure will provide support for Development/ up-gradation of depot infrastructure; and Creation of behind-the-meter power infrastructure (substation, etc.) for e-buses.
  • Segment B– Green Urban Mobility Initiatives (GUMI): (181 cities)

OBJECTIVES OF PM eBUS SEWA:

  • The scheme envisages green initiatives like bus priority, infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, NCMC-based Automated Fare Collection Systems, Charging infrastructure, etc.
  • Under the scheme, States/Cities shall be responsible for running the bus services and making payments to the bus operators.
  • The Central Government will support these bus operations by providing subsidy to the extent specified in the proposed scheme.

Reaching the Unreached:

  • The scheme will cover cities of Three lakh and above population as per census 2011 including all the Capital cities of Union Territories, North Eastern Region and Hill States.
  • Under this scheme priority will be given to cities having no organized bus service.

Direct Employment Generation:

  • The scheme will generate 45,000 to 55,000 direct jobs through deployment of around 10,000 buses in city bus operation.

BOOST TO E-MOBILITY THROUGH SEWA:

  • The scheme will promote e-mobility and provide full support for behind-the-meter power infrastructure.
  • Cities will also be supported for development of charging infrastructure under Green Urban Mobility Initiatives.
  • The support to bus priority infrastructure shall not only accelerate the proliferation of state-of-the-art, energy efficient electric buses but also foster the innovation in the e-mobility sector as well as development of resilient supply chain for electric vehicles.
  • This scheme shall also bring in economies of scale for procurement of electric buses through aggregation for e-buses.
  • Adoption to Electric mobility will reduce noise and air pollution and curb carbon emission.
  • Modal shift due to increased share of bus-based public transportation will lead to GHG reduction.
SYLLABUS: PRELIMS, CURRENT AFFAIRS