“Eco friendly passenger transport services may be a new experience in Jammu & Kashmir but e-buses and e-rickshaws have already brought a huge change in the passengers”.
The introduction of e-buses in the twin capital cities Srinagar and Jammu has undoubtedly revolutionised the passenger transport services and hereafter the demands for facility of e-buses are likely to come from towns and villages in less than a year from now in view of the growing popularity of electric vehicles across Jammu & Kashmir. The facility of e-buses and e-rickshaws if extended to towns and villages will not only ease the travels of passengers in Jammu & Kashmir but it will also reduce the emissions besides improving the air quality in both urban and rural parts of Jammu & Kashmir. What matters the most is the fact that the expansion e-buse networks to towns and villages will make the journey of tourists pleasant during their stays in any part of Jammu & Kashmir. Eco friendly passenger transport services may be a new experience in Jammu & Kashmir but e-buses and e-rickshaws have already brought a huge change in the passengers transport services in most of metropolitan cities in several states of the country. As Delhi Government has already announced motor vehicle aggregator scheme for easing the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) to intermediaries providing transport and delivery services, the Jammu & Kashmir Government can also adopt such a scheme for the passenger transport operators to help them shift their business to e-transport services in Jammu & Kashmir. However all depends on whether Jammu & Kashmir Government has any plan to extend the facility of e-buses and e-rickshaws in towns and villages in future.
“Since the transition from conventional to electric passenger vehicles would be the fulfillment of a bigger promise of taking the eco-friendly transport services to the door steps of the people across Jammu & Kashmir, administrative wisdom demands engagement of all stakeholders for successful operation of e-buses in phases in pursuit of a broad objective of the operation of eco-friendly passenger transport services in Jammu & Kashmir.”
Since facilities like high-back seats, CCTV cameras, lifts for the physically challenged, and other modern amenities are not available in the conventional passenger buses run on petrol and diesel, the Government can’t continue with the conventional transport services run on diesel and petrol for more than a year now. However the transition from conventional transport services run on diesel and petrol to e-buses and e-rickshaws is a huge challenge equally for both the Government and as well as passenger transport operators in Jammu & Kashmir. It is also a fact that despite challenges both the Government and as well as the passenger transport operators in a very shortage span of one or two years will find a compulsion in expediting the process of transition from conventional transport services to electric passenger vehicles in each and every part of Jammu & Kashmir. Before moving with the transition of passenger transport services from conventional to electric passenger vehicles the Government’s main concern would be undoubtedly the development of necessary infrastructure for establishing charging stations on all inter-district routes both in Kashmir Valley and as well as Jammu division. Since the transition from conventional to electric passenger vehicles would be the fulfillment of a bigger promise of taking the eco-friendly transport services to the door steps of the people across Jammu & Kashmir, administrative wisdom demands engagement of all stakeholders for successful operation of e-buses in phases in pursuit of a broad objective of the operation of eco-friendly passenger transport services in Jammu & Kashmir.
