PANAJI: With electric vehicles running successfully in Goa under Kadamba transport corporation limited (KTCL) and more buses lined up to join the fleet, five more vehicle charging stations are expected to be ready by next month in the state.
Currently there are charging stations at Panaji, Vasco, Pernem, Ponda and Valpoi, and only one electric vehicle charging station operating at Margao.
“Once we decentralise the charging stations, it will help us cover more interior routes. The charging station at Vasco will be ready by the end of this month while the rest four will take a month and a half to be ready,” said KTC general manager, Sanjay Ghate.
KTCL is operating 35 EVs currently in Goa. These are a part of the 50 vehicles that Goa has been granted under Phase II of the FAME India scheme. The remaining 15 vehicles are expected to be delivered by the same Hyderabad-based company that manufactured the previous 35. A letter of award has been issued for another 100 electric buses to the company, supply for which is expected to begin from June 22, onwards.
“The EVs will be delivered in phases. We are expecting about 25 buses in June and another 25 in September. By December we are hoping to receive the remaining buses.
As a result Goa will have a large fleet of KTC EVs by the end of next year. The nine-metre long buses will be operated in the interior areas of Goa on existing KTC routes. “We are likely to condemn 100 old KTC buses to replace them with the ones from the order for 100 EVs,” Ghate said.
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Experts opined that increasing the visibility of charging infrastructure will boost EV sales in the state. Tamil Nadu at present has 45,300 battery-operated vehicles — seventh highest in the country, according to transport department data.
The Centre has launched FAME-II scheme with an allocation of Rs 3,500 crore for promotion of adoption of electric buses.