Transport Minister and Transport Secretary, M R Vijayabaskar and P W C Davidar, inspected a model electric bus on Monday, week after announcing the launch of electric buses in Chennai. The buses were manufactured by Ashok Leyland and the trial was taken at the Pallavan Salai MTC depot. However, Vijayabhaskar termed the vehicle to be unfit for the city, due to the absence of certain features. Previously, the bus has also been tested in hilly regions.
The minister told the reporters that the vehicle performed well but he was not convinced with its features.
A source from MTC told Chronicle, “the vehicle with inbuilt CCTV cameras and air conditioner facility has inconvenient flooring and stairs”.
“Ashok Leyland and another private manufacturing company have been given two months to come up with a better vehicle, that is commuter friendly,” an official said.
Read more: Triumph Street Triple S launched at Rs 8.5 Lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
As of now, MTC has around 3,500 buses and all of them run on diesel. However, often they have been flagged for contributing to pollution. The costing of new buses estimated around 2 crores each with an advantage of zero emissions.
