The West Bengal government is planning to add 2,000 electric buses to its fleet and also converting at least 3,000 diesel-run buses into CNG-powered vehicles in the next few years.

Around 80 electric buses are currently plying the roads of Kolkata according to Transport Minister Mr Firhad Hakim. Also a pilot project of turning 30 fossil fuel-run buses into CNG-operated ones has been completed, and the results were encouraging.

The objective of the state transport is to reduce the use of fossil fuels, which will lead to a reduction in pollution and improvement of air quality.

There are 76 charging facilities for the buses.

“Urban transportation will soon become completely electric & old buses are being converted to CNG in full swing. We are committed to reduce our carbon footprint & I urge all citizens to join us in this battle for a better world for our future generations,” Hakim tweeted earlier in the day.

“We have converted diesel engines to CNG ones in 30 buses and the trial run was encouraging. We are now planning to ramp it up to 3,000 buses. The government is also appealing to private bus operators to join this initiative,” he said.

The West Bengal state government has exempted registration fees, motor vehicles and other taxes for electric vehicles to facilitate faster adoption of green transport.