Jaipur: Three years after the electric bus project was announced under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme by former CM Ashok Gehlot in the 2023 state budget and reiterated by the BJP govt in its 2024 budget, Jaipur’s first batch of e-buses has run into an infrastructure bottleneck. Barely a month after operations began, commuters on three routes are facing service disruptions as the city’s second charging depot at Todi is yet to become operational, leaving Bagrana as the only charging depot for all 31 electric buses.The e-buses currently operate on Transport Nagar-VKI (E-1A), Transport Nagar-Dwarkapuri (E-3) and Chomu Puliya-Kanota (E-4A). Although Jaipur City Transport Services Limited (JCTSL) has depots at Bagrana, Todi and Sanganer, only Bagrana currently has charging facilities for the electric fleet. The Sanganer depot continues to house diesel buses and will be converted for electric buses later.“Five to seven bus trips in the second shift are being cancelled daily. There is no e-bus service on these routes between 12 pm and 2 pm because the entire fleet returns to the depot for charging. The charging infrastructure at the Todi depot is still not operational,” said Ramkunwar Bishnoi, president of JCTSL Mazdoor Congress (INTUC).During a TOI visit, commuters complained of long waits. A family travelling from Transport Nagar to VKI-17 said they waited nearly 50 minutes before hiring an auto-rickshaw at almost double the bus fare. Another commuter said buses operate regularly in the morning but after around 11am they go for charging and return only around 2pm.JCTSL managing director Narayan Singh said installation of charging equipment and the power connection at the Todi depot was underway. “We expect the charging facility to become operational within a month,” he said.Singh added that the remaining 119 electric buses, out of the sanctioned fleet of 150, are expected to arrive within the next two months. Jaipur is also slated to receive 300 more e-buses in 2026-27.Explaining the current operating pattern, Singh said buses are charged when they return to the depot after the 7am to 3pm driver shift, coinciding with crew changeovers.To support the expanding fleet, JCTSL plans to set up more charging infrastructure across the city. Officials said the long-term plan is to establish depots at all six entry points to Jaipur so buses can be charged at their first and last stops, helping improve service frequency.
