Creating history with its ambition to adopt electric mobility, Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) has planned to add 20 electric buses by May 15 suitable for wheelchair bound people.
These 20 electric buses will have a feature where the floor of the buses can be lowered and tilted to allow ease of boarding.
This is especially beneficial for wheelchair-bound persons, besides senior citizens, children and pregnant women.
The nine-metre EVs will be Goa’s first disabled-friendly electric buses and will operate along village routes and peripheries of Panaji.
“The special EVs will provide easy accessibility not just for people with disabilities but also for anyone that wishes to access the bus without hardship,” said KTC managing director, Derek Pereira Neto.
There are 490 fuel-run buses in the KTC fleet as well, 38 of which have been ‘condemned’ from April 1 onwards for being over 15-years under the scrapping policy.
The corporation had earlier modified 25% of its existing buses to make them disabled-friendly as per the Supreme Court’s directive.
They also conducted a passenger survey of the buses to ensure they are meeting the requirement of persons with special needs.
Wheelchairs were kept on standby at every Kadamba bus terminus, toilets for the specially-abled and ramps were built to make them accessibility friendly.
“The objective is to make KTC freely accessible to any person irrespective of their disability, age and physical conditions,” said Neto.
KTC general manager Sanjay Ghate said that efforts are being made to bring in more disabled-friendly EVs in the state. “We will deploy these buses in all rural routes.”
KTC currently has a fleet of 50 EVs operating in the state which were released under Phase II of the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) India scheme.
In addition, 148 mini-EVs have been ordered under the same scheme, of which, one vehicle is already plying on the Panaji to Socorro route. The 20 disabled-friendly buses are a part of this consignment. With this, Goa will have 71 EVs operating in the state very soon.