Delhi Chief Minister Atishi inspected the Union Territory's latest transport initiative — Mohalla Bus. The mohalla buses, which are relatively smaller than the regular buses plying Delhi roads, will be launched soon. These buses are electric and "silent" and can reportedly manoeuvre localities in Delhi. However, it is not clear what routes these vehicles will take. The buses are powered by five battery packs.
After the inspection, Atishi said: "Delhi's unique Mohalla buses are 9 metres long and have low floors. The first batch of 150 buses has arrived. These buses are ready for launch. Trials have been conducted on two routes. Today, we are here to inspect these buses and their charging infrastructure."
She said that once all the 150 buses are on Delhi's roads, they would cater to last-mile connectivity, reaching even congested areas where larger 12-metre electric and CNG buses cannot go. "This initiative has been undertaken by the Delhi government under the guidance of Arvind Kejriwal. Transport has always been a problem in Delhi, especially last-mile connectivity. While the metro has expanded significantly, reaching home from the metro station remains a major issue for Delhiites. To address this last-mile connectivity problem, more than 2,000 Mohalla buses will be deployed across Delhi in phases," Atishi said.
The 150 ready buses will be deployed in the first phase in the next two weeks.
Earlier, trial runs of the buses were conducted on two routes — Majlis Park to Pradhan Enclave and Akshardham to Mayur Vihar Phase III.