Amid the row over replacing electric buses with fossil-fuel-powered buses in the capital, pitched by the new Transport Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar, former Transport Minister Antony Raju who changed the public transportation landscape of the capital by introducing e-buses spoke to The Hindu on a range of issues related to the project. Excerpts.
You have been maintaining that the electric buses are a runaway success in Kerala. But your successor has snubbed your claims and announced that electric buses will be replaced with diesel one. Your comments
First, it is up to the State government to comment on the issue as it was a policy decision to introduce electric buses. If the new Minister feels that the policy was erroneous, it is the responsibility of the Chief Minister to explain or take a call on the matter. Second, I still stick to my point that the electric buses are a huge success in the State. Electric buses can be operated at just ₹4.6 per km, while diesel buses require around ₹26.4 per km, let alone other costs.
The new Minister is critical of the hefty price of electric buses, amounting to almost ₹1 crore for each bus
It’s true that at least three diesel buses can be purchased at the cost of one electric bus. However, when you earn around ₹21.40 per km for electric bus services, how can you term it a loss-making project? Second, the project brought people back to the public transportation system in the capital. Initially, there was low patronage for the e-buses because of high fare. It was only after the Corporation slashed the ticket rate to ₹10 that the public took to the project. If there were only a few thousand passengers on e-buses in the first stage, it has now jumped to about 80,000 per day.
Moreover, with office-goers and the public coming back to public transportation in the city, vehicular congestion on the roads during peak hours has reduced significantly, leading to low carbon emissions. The cost and time saved by the government by reducing the number of vehicles on roads along with the reduction of carbon emissions are priceless at a time when the world is setting targets to curb global warming by reducing emissions.
The new Minister was upset by ₹10 ticket fare on e-buses and hinted at the need to revise the ticket fares. Your comments
In fact, the corporation was mulling slashing e-bus ticket fares further when I stepped down as part of an agreement between coalition partners on the Left front. I would have slashed the rate to ₹5 had I continued as a Minister. In States like Maharashtra, the electric bus fare is ₹5. Moreover, it is viable on many counts. I had almost finalised the decision to introduce e-bus services in Kochi as well, where we identified a place to set up a charging station at Kalamasherry. Industries Minister P. Rajeeve took the initiative to introduce e-buses in Kochi.
Did an unhealthy competition between coalition partners lead to the present crisis, with the new Minister seeking a report from the KSRTC CMD about the operation of e-buses?
Not at all. As I said earlier, the green city initiative was the policy decision of the State. The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and Smart City project-funded electric buses were part of this policy. Had there been any doubt over the viability of the e-buses, the new Minister should have sought the report before making a public comment. Further, the strong public protest that followed the comments of the new minister points to the acceptability and success of the project.
