Thane's E-Bus Fleet Faces ₹430-Crore Gap; Fare Hike Proposed

Thane city has bought 180 special air-conditioned buses that run on electricity instead of petrol or diesel, which helps keep the air cleaner.

But these buses cost a lot of money to run, much more than the city earns from selling bus tickets.

Over 12 years, running them will cost about ₹1,096 crore, while tickets will only bring in about ₹666 crore.

That leaves a big gap of around ₹430 crore, which the city would have to pay for itself.

To help fix this, the transport department wants to make bus tickets more expensive.

Bus fares in Thane have not gone up since July 2015, even though costs have risen.

The fare increase could save about ₹19 crore every year, bringing the yearly loss down to about ₹16 crore.

The central government also gave Thane a grant of ₹64.52 crore to buy the buses.

But officials say the city must spend that money quickly by finishing its tenders, or it may have to give the money back.

The new buses will run on busy roads like Ghodbunder Road, and new charging stations will be built at city depots.