New Delhi: Almost a fortnight after the Union cabinet cleared the PM-eBus Sewa scheme, the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA), which is piloting the scheme, came out with guidelines for it Tuesday. Ministry officials say cities will start getting buses under the scheme within the next six months.
These guidelines mandate that cities with the highest bus deficit will get a preference when it comes to central grants if they have either operational depots or abundant land to set up depots, or have agreements with power distribution companies (discoms) to set up infrastructure for e-buses, a senior MoHUA official explained to ThePrint.
Addressing a press conference Thursday Union Housing and Urban Affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, “The government has come up with the scheme to provide 10,00o e-buses to cities. This is just the beginning to provide good public transport to people.”
MoHUA secretary Manoj Joshi said that cities will start getting buses in the next five to six months.
Cities will also be required to take additional measures, such as regulating bus routes of private operators, among other things, to get e-buses.
The Rs 57,613-crore scheme, which was approved by the Union cabinet on 16 August, has two components — augmentation of city bus infrastructure and green urban mobility initiatives (GUMI). A senior MoHUA official told ThePrint that the guidelines for GUMI will be released later.
Of the Rs 57,613 crore, Rs 20,000 crore will be paid by the Centre, of which around Rs 15,000 crore will be allocated for bus operations and the balance will be spent on creation of supporting infrastructure for electric buses.
According to the guidelines, 169 cities are eligible to apply and will be ranked on five parameters — deficit of buses, availability of bus depots, availability of power supply, earnings per km, and scrapping of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) buses. Cities which face a massive shortage of buses but have abundant land to set up bus depots, or already have fully developed bus depots, or have an agreement with discoms to set up power infrastructure for e-buses, will get a high score.
The guidelines state that to get the central funds, cities or state governments will have to agree to guarantee timely payments to bus operators, set up power infrastructure, among other things, to be eligible to participate.
In a post on X on 16 August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the scheme will “redefine urban mobility”.
PM-eBus Sewa will redefine urban mobility. It will strengthen our urban transport infrastructure. Prioritising cities without organised bus services, this move promises not only cleaner and efficient transport but also aims to generate several jobs.https://t.co/4wbhjhCMjI https://t.co/WROR0LxTIy
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 16, 2023
According to a senior ministry official, “There are two important aspects of the selection criteria. First, cities with the highest deficit will be given preference as the aim of the scheme is to provide public bus transport in such cities. Second is having a behind-the-meter-power infrastructure, such as a substation, for which 100 per cent central assistance will be provided but cities will have to provide land and tie-up with discoms.”
Transport experts say provisions and safeguards in the guidelines will help in smooth operations of e-buses in tier 2 and 3 cities.
“The initiative encompasses crucial facets like dedicated bus infrastructure, intelligent transportation management, seamless multimodal integration, and an efficient fare collection system through the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC),” said Randheer Singh, CEO ForeSee Advisors, and former director of NITI Aayog’s E-mobility: National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage.
Also read: Centre clears Rs 57,613-cr PM-eBus Sewa scheme — ‘potential to be game changer in transport sector’
Central tender for buses
The procurement of 10,000 buses will be done via a common tender which will be floated by the Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) in lots and be based on the demand raised by cities for the number of types of buses (standard size, midi or mini), said a ministry official.
Of the 169 cities, there are 10 — three in Uttar Pradesh, one each in Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and two in Kerala — with a population between 20-40 lakh that are eligible to apply for the scheme. The rest have a population of 3-20 lakh.
The guidelines state that cities with a population of 3-40 lakh will get 60 per cent of the total project cost as central assistance, while hill cities and Northeast capital cities will get 90 per cent, and other capital cities of Union territories with no legislature will get 100 per cent central funding.
State governments will have to constitute a steering committee to select the proposal and evaluate it before sending it to CESL.
The private concessionaire will be paid by the state and Centre on a per kilometre basis. The concessionaire will have to provide buses and be responsible for its maintenance and operations. The central subsidy will be provided for a period of 10 years or till 2037, whichever is earlier.
In several cities, there are private operators who are running bus services. The guidelines say, “The city shall sign an MoU with the regional transport office for regulating existing private operators along the city bus routes.”
The cities will also have to sign MoU with concerned departments to ensure maintenance of road infrastructure.
‘Payment guarantee to bus operators a good move’
To ensure better participation from private players in the scheme, the Centre has made a provision in the guidelines wherein state governments will guarantee timely payment to bus operators.
The guidelines for the implementation of the ambitious scheme were shared with states and Union territories last week.
As per the guidelines, the resource gap or revenue deficit in bus operations will be “borne by the city/state” and “state guarantee will be provided for payment of bus operations”.
For bus operations, the Centre will pay between Rs 20 and Rs 24 per kilometre, depending on the size of the bus.
“State guarantee will be provided for payment of bus operations …. Central Assistance will be provided for assured kilometers… Operations beyond the assured km will be borne by the city. Resource cap, if any, beyond central assistance, farebox and non-farebox revenue will be borne by the city/state,” the guidelines state.
The central assistance for the first three months of bus operations will be paid in advance to the bus operator and then paid quarterly. The payment will be made on fixed dates to the operators, it adds.
Transport experts say that this is a welcome move and will play an important role in the implementation of the ambitious scheme.
Amit Bhatt, Managing Director-India, International Council for Clean Transportation, said that the assurance of prompt payment not only encourages heightened engagement from the private sector but also contributes to a reduction in operational costs.
“The inclusion of payment guarantees from states signifies that in the event of deficits, the states will be responsible for closing the financial gap. However, of even greater significance is that this provision, coupled with the establishment of an escrow account, ensures timely compensation for operators. This stands out as the cornerstone among the guidelines’ provisions,” said Bhatt.
Prasanna Patwardhan, president of Bus and Car Operators Confederation of India, said, “It is a good scheme and will play a big role in improving bus services in small cities. In most small cities, public bus operations are run by private players. We want the government to help private operators in getting bank loans to procure buses. For smooth operations, common charging infrastructure development is very important.”
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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