Bhubaneswar, Aug 11 : The Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), responsible for bus services in the capital city of Bhubaneswar ,will expand its fleet by introducing 200 more electric buses within the next two months, CRUT Managing Director Arun Bothra said.

CRUT is presently operating 50 electric buses in the city and aimed to replace its entire fleet of vehicles with e-buses, Bothra said while addressing International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Future Electric Transportation (SeFeT-2023) at the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) Deemed to be University here on Thursday.

The shift to electric transportation was necessary in view of the threat posed by climate change, he said.

At present 50 electric autos were operating in Bhubaneswar and it was planned to add 200 more e-autos as part of the government’s commitment to the cause of sustainability, the CRUT Managing Director said.

As a policy, these e-autos are operated exclusively by women, transgenders and HIV positive people, he said.

Besides, the government, Bothra said, had started a vehicle scrapping facility with the objective of scrapping all vehicles unfit for use scientifically within the next three to four years

The government also had launched an electric vehicle policy under which people purchasing e-vehicles would get subsidies which was among the highest in the country, Bothra said.