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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Tuesday flagged off 250 new government buses at the Secretariat in Chennai to improve public transport services across the state. Of the 250 buses, 130 are air-conditioned, low-floor electric buses for the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) in Chennai.
Tamil Nadu's New Government Buses
The 130 electric buses have been purchased for Rs 234.5 crore. They are part of a larger plan to introduce 750 air-conditioned electric buses in Chennai, with the total project estimated to cost Rs 1,337 crore. The move is expected to expand the use of cleaner public transport and help reduce pollution in the city.
The remaining 120 buses are conventional buses and will be operated by eight state transport corporations across Tamil Nadu. These buses were purchased for Rs 55.6 crore and are part of a larger plan to procure 1,614 conventional buses at an estimated cost of Rs 756 crore. Officials said the remaining buses would be added to the fleet as manufacturers deliver them.
Of the 130 new electric buses, 50 have been assigned to the MTC's Central depot. These buses will operate on 10 routes, including 2C, 7H, PP21, 29A, 40H, 40A, 88Kct, 221, 72 and 25. The Alandur depot has received the remaining 80 buses, which will run on 15 routes. With this addition, MTC's fleet of air-conditioned electric buses has increased to 755.
Opening of Bids for an Electric Bus Project
Meanwhile, the opening of bids for another major electric bus project has been postponed once again. MTC is planning to select operators for 1,000 more air-conditioned low-floor electric buses and 520 small buses. The bids, which were earlier scheduled to open on July 15, were postponed several times and are now expected to be opened on August 27.
Officials said the repeated postponement was due to administrative reasons. The existing tenders for 750 electric buses and 1,614 conventional buses were issued during the previous government, and deliveries are currently taking place. Manufacturers have until March 2027 to complete the deliveries, although the transport department wants to receive all the buses by the end of 2026.