The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approved the deployment of 1,725 air-conditioned electric buses across 18 cities on Friday. Planned under a Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model, commercial operations are scheduled under a 12-year contract period.
The electric bus allocation includes 300 units each for Lucknow and Kanpur, 250 for Varanasi, 150 for Gorakhpur, and 100 buses each for Agra, Ghaziabad, Meerut, and Noida including Jewar. Additionally, Ayodhya, Prayagraj, and Mathura-Vrindavan will receive 50 buses each, while 25 buses each will be deployed in Aligarh, Firozabad, Shahjahanpur, Bareilly, Moradabad, Saharanpur, and Jhansi. The fleet will consist of 9-metre and 12-metre air-conditioned electric buses.
Under the GCC model, private operators selected through competitive bidding will fund vehicle procurement, establish depot charging infrastructure, hire drivers, and manage daily operations. On the other hand, the state government will retain control over passenger tariffs and user charges.
The government will provide a financial subsidy of Rs 40 lakh for each 12-metre electric bus and Rs 35 lakh for each 9-metre bus. Municipal corporations and the Noida Authority will provide free land for depot construction.