This piece was originally published in The Hindu Business Line. 

 The post-Diwali air quality index (AQI) is being widely discussed in newspaper reports, and with the exception of 2022, the day after Diwali 2024 had the lowest 24-hour average AQI for that day since 2015. In the last 2–3 months, Delhi enjoyed its best air quality of the year and once saw an AQI close to 53. It was similar at this time last year, when Delhi had a few months of good AQI and clear skies. This is all the result of multiple initiatives by agencies, including the environment and transport departments of the Government of Delhi, the Commission for Air Quality Management, and more.  

This article intends to look at some the transport-specific initiatives, including the Delhi Electric Vehicles policy, which was released in August 2020 and is currently extended till March 2025. This was a major milestone in the city’s strategy to combat air quality issues. Indeed, the city has over time created and executed several actions to improve air quality, and one of the key strategies has been electrification of the transport sector. As Delhi paves its way towards EV policy 2.0, let’s look at its electrification journey through the lens of public transport service improvement. 

Delhi’s EV policy set a 50% electrification target for new public transport vehicles and covered new stage-carriage buses procured for the city’s fleet, including for last-mile connectivity services. 

The transition to electric started with public buses, and in a significant move under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) II scheme, Delhi procured and deployed 400 electric buses (e-buses) in 2022 at a competitive rate of ₹43/km. These buses have now been operational for over 2 years and each 12 m e-bus can operate for 120 km on a single charge, which contributes to a significant reduction in carbon footprint. A study estimated that replacing Delhi’s entire existing bus fleet with new e-buses could reduce total pollutant emissions by nearly 75%.

In addition to deploying e-buses, the Delhi Government floated tenders for e-scooter and e-cycle adoption in January 2024, to diversify the transport options available in the city. Additionally, pursuant to an initiative focusing on gender equity introduced in April 2022, the Delhi Government issued permits for 3,500 e-autos and 500 of these were earmarked for female-driven e-autos. Training programs for female drivers are underway and interdepartmental coordination is helping to streamline the process of bringing onboard women-owned e-autos.

Building infrastructure

Delhi’s commitment to building infrastructure for electric vehicles is also evident in the efforts of Delhi Transco, which issued tenders to set up charging and battery-swapping facilities across the city. Companies like Sun Mobility have already begun setting up these facilities and users are given subsidized rates, to help ensure the affordability and accessibility of e-mobility solutions. Another outcome of these tenders is that, in collaboration with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and the Transport Department, Sun Mobility has launched three-wheeler-e-rickshaw services to improve last-mile connectivity.

Public transport services that operate at high frequency and on shorter routes are needed. A major initiative is the Mohalla bus scheme, which was formulated to create neighbourhood-level connectivity using the e-bus fleet. The e-buses procured under the Mohalla bus scheme are set to be deployed soon.

Even though Delhi’s EV policy envisioned only 50% of all new stage-carriage procurement to be electric, all buses deployed by the Delhi Government since January 2024 are electric. This year alone, from January to August 2024, 595 e-buses were deployed in Delhi. Delhi’s efforts to promote electric mobility not only improve sustainability but also offer long-term economic and health benefits by reducing fuel costs and improving air quality for residents.