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The government will procure 440 electric and CNG-run AC buses within next year (2024) to expand its fleet of luxury city bus services, officials said on Monday.
The Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) has taken two separate projects in this regard with the financial support of Korea and India.
The BRTC has undertaken a Tk 10.76-billion project with Korean support to procure 340 CNG-run single-decker AC buses, and a Tk 12.53-billion project with Indian line of credit (LoC) support to procure 100 electric double-decker AC buses.
The BRTC officials said Korea already assured Bangladesh of providing some US$ 75 million (Tk 7.76 billion) worth of loan for procuring 340 AC buses, while India some $98 million for procuring 100 AC buses.
A senior official of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges told the FE that they started transforming the state-run transportation service to a better one, considering the demand of city dwellers amid hot and humid weather.
"Besides, the oil-run and CNG-run vehicles will be phased out after 2030. In addition, the global automobile manufacturers will not produce oil-run vehicles after 2035. So, we have started our preparation to face the future challenges," he added.
A BRTC official said: "Actually, we do not have any electric vehicle (EV) in our fleet. So, we have taken the project to procure 100 double-decker EVs. Besides, 340 single-decker CNG-run luxury buses will also be imported. Most of these buses will be run under city services in the areas under two Dhaka city corporations."
"Under the bus-route rationalisation progarmme, we will provide these luxury buses for running on 42 different routes across the capital," he also said.
"We have recently sent both the project proposals to the Planning Commission for getting its approval."
"Soon after getting approval of the projects, we will import the luxury buses within the next one and a half years," the BRTC official added.
Currently, some 1,362 fuel oil-run buses are in operation under the BRTC - mainly on different routes in the capital and across the country. None of these are EV bus.
According to the BRTC, a total of 1,824 buses were in its fleet till fiscal year (FY) 2020-21. In FY 2021, the BRTC handled 88 million passengers across the country.
Bangladesh is one of the worst victims of climate change, as its weather has been becoming warmer over the last few years, resulting in a high demand for luxury buses in the capital and other districts.
Currently, some 200 AC busses of the BRTC are being operated in the capital and inter-district services.