News: Gurugram Gets First of 100 E-Buses; Trial Begins-23-07-2026
The first of 100 electric buses meant for Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited (GMCBL) arrived in the city on Wednesday and has joined the fleet, starting a rollout that has been delayed for years.
GMCBL CEO Vishwajeet Chaudhary said the fully air-conditioned, 25-seat bus will run on three different routes with passenger load for three days from Thursday to test its performance. The colour scheme is final, charging infrastructure at the Sector 10 depot is ready, and 25 e-buses expected next month will be put into service. Six charging points at the depot allow 12 buses to be charged at once in around half an hour. A depot developed in Sector 48 can hold 100 more e-buses.
A senior GMCBL official said the buses come under the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme. The vendor received the work order in April this year and will operate and maintain the fleet for a fixed Rs 55.47 per kilometre.
GMCBL has also launched an improved loop card on trial. The prepaid smart card costs Rs 100, all of which can be used as fare. Digital payments are accepted through point-of-sale machines.
Gurugram was allocated the buses in 2023, but procurement was held up by tender-related litigation, repeated rejection of bidders over financial and pricing concerns, and approval hurdles. The rollout slipped from 2023 to 2024 and then mid-2025. Officials said in April that the buses would arrive by July, after a concessionaire was finalised in February 2025 for 450 electric buses across Haryana.
