Delhi govt to induct 2,800 low-floor electric buses into city’s fleet under Centre’s PM E-DRIVE scheme

3 min readUpdated: Jun 7, 2026 08:37 PM IST

The proposed fleet is expected to improve connectivity across the city, particularly in areas with limited public transport access. (File photo)

The Delhi government is set to induct 2,800 air-conditioned low-floor electric buses under the Centre’s PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme, including 1,400 nine-metre buses and 1,400 twelve-metre buses, as part of its plan to expand the city’s public transport fleet, Transport Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh said on Sunday.

The proposed fleet is expected to improve connectivity across the city, particularly in areas with limited public transport access. The mix of nine-metre and twelve-metre buses is intended to serve both neighbourhood routes and high-demand corridors, according to officials.

The government said that currently, nearly 4,300 electric buses operate in Delhi and it aims to increase the number to around 7,500 by the end of this year. The proposed bus induction forms part of the government’s longer-term target of increasing the Capital’s overall public bus fleet to nearly 14,000 by 2028-29. The city already has the largest electric bus fleet in the country.

Singh said the government is also pursuing the induction of 3,330 additional electric buses under the next phase of the PM E-DRIVE scheme. These will include 500 seven-metre electric buses, which are proposed to be deployed on feeder routes and for last-mile connectivity. Another 2,330 buses will be nine-metre long and 500 will be seven-metre long.

“The planned induction of 2,800 new electric buses will significantly strengthen connectivity, improve commuter convenience and accelerate our transition towards sustainable mobility,” Singh said.

PM E-DRIVE is the Centre’s flagship scheme to accelerate electric EV adoption, establish charging infrastructure, and build an EV manufacturing ecosystem in the country. The scheme incentivises procurement of 14,028 electric buses in nine major cities with more than 40 lakh population like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. Bangalore got the maximum number of electric buses at 4,500, with Hyderabad getting 2,000 and Ahemdabad getting 1,000 in the first phase of tender of 10,900 buses which has been concluded, according to a reply by the Minister of State for Heavy Industries, Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma in Lok Sabha.

The Transport department said it has observed encouraging operational performance of nine-metre electric buses, already deployed in the city, particularly on local and feeder routes, and plans to build on that experience while expanding the fleet.

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The statement added that charging and power infrastructure at bus depots would also be developed to support the larger electric fleet.

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Devansh Mittal is a Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in the New Delhi City bureau. He reports on urban policy, civic governance, and infrastructure in the National Capital Region, with a growing focus on housing, land policy, transport, and the disruption economy and its social implications.

Professional Background

Education: He studied Political Science at Ashoka University.

Core Beats: His reporting focuses on policy and governance in the National Capital Region, one of the largest urban agglomerations in the world. He covers housing and land policy, municipal governance, urban transport, and the interface between infrastructure, regulation, and everyday life in the city.

Recent Notable Work

His recent reporting includes in-depth examinations of urban policy and its on-ground consequences:

An investigation into subvention-linked home loans that documented how homebuyers were drawn into under-construction projects through a “builder–bank” nexus, often leaving them financially exposed when delivery stalled.

A detailed report on why Delhi’s land-pooling policy has remained stalled since 2007, tracing how fragmented land ownership, policy design flaws, and mistrust among stakeholders have kept one of the capital’s flagship urban reforms in limbo.

A reported piece examining the collapse of an electric mobility startup and what it meant for women drivers dependent on the platform for livelihoods.

Reporting Approach

Devansh’s work combines on-ground reporting with analysis of government data, court records, and academic research. He regularly reports from neighbourhoods, government offices, and courtrooms to explain how decisions on housing, transport, and the disruption economy shape everyday life in the city.

Contact

X (Twitter): @devanshmittal_

Email: [email protected] ... Read More

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