Switch Mobility, the electric vehicle division of Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland, on Thursday said it has joined hands with transport technology company Chalo to deploy 5,000 electric buses across the country. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard has been inked for an initial period of three years.
Under the partnership, Switch and Chalo will jointly invest to deploy electric buses in cities where Chalo is present.
Chalo will deploy its consumer technology solutions offering conveniences such as live bus tracking, digital tickets, and travel plans; and also determine routes, frequency, schedules, and fares.
Switch’s responsibilities include the supply and maintenance of the electric buses.
“This significant partnership of 5,000 electric buses, will certainly open up access to affordable, comfortable, hassle-free and environmentally-friendly transport solutions…,” Switch Mobility India CEO Mahesh Babu said in a statement.
Chalo co-founder and CEO Mohit Dubey said, “Last year, we finalised a project to add 1,000 new buses in three of our cities. Today, we are glad to partner with Switch on a scale that is 5 times larger.”
Last month, Tata Motors announced it had bagged an order for 1,500 electric buses from Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) as part of a tender by Convergence Energy Services.
The auto major will supply, operate and maintain air-conditioned, low-floor, 12-metre fully-built electric buses for 12 years, as per the contract, it said in a statement.
The Mumbai-based company has already supplied more than 650 electric buses across multiple cities in India, which have cumulatively clocked more than 39 million kilometres.
Delhi Transport Corporation MD Neeraj Semwal said the induction of the environment-friendly buses will help largely in reducing air pollution and benefit millions of citizens.
Convergence Energy Services (CESL) MD and CEO Mahua Acharya said that the Delhi Government has shown exemplary leadership in transitioning over to electric buses. “We are fortunate to have benefited from this and are thankful to Tata Motors in their generous collaboration,” she added.
