MUMBAI: Mumbai has become the first city in India to join the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI) E-Bus Mission, which will design and implement the plan for deploying electric buses in Mumbai. The Letter of Intent (LoI) to join the mission was signed by Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) on Monday, September 4 in the presence of Aaditya Thackeray, Minister of Environment and Tourism, Government of Maharashtra. The Mission will include a technical assistance plan and strategy for long-term adoption of e-buses in Mumbai.
Thackeray said that the shift to electric vehicles is necessary for all segments, whether big or small, in order to meet the climate and air quality goals. The LoI signifies the intention of the state government to work towards decarbonisation of public transport through electrification.
The e-bus mission aims to establish a coalition of public and private sector in order to achieve the transition to e-buses in 20 ‘deep dive’ cities and then replicate this in 100 cities by the end of 2022. BEST in Mumbai operates the biggest electric bus fleet of the country with 386 e-buses and aims to add 1900 e-buses to its fleet by 2023. Over the course of this mission, Mumbai will participate at cities network meetings and engage with them via knowledge sharing.