MSRTC to start two new charging stations at Swargate & Dapodi

As the number of electric buses (e-buses) in the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) Pune division fleet is increasing, the corporation has decided to start two new charging stations at Swargate and Dapodi, the proposal for which has been submitted to the head office. Each of the two new charging stations will have 18 charging points to help charge e-buses plying on different city routes.

Currently, there are 66 e-buses in the MSRTC Pune division fleet that are charged at the main head office premises at Shankar Sheth Road. Whereas two new e-bus charging stations will be coming up at the Swargate ST stand and Dapodi MSRTC workshop.

MSRTC Pune divisional controller Pramod Nehul said, “The final approval and tender processing to start an electric charging station at the Swargate ST stand is in the final stage; 18 charging points will be installed here. We can then charge and send e-buses from here on the Kolhapur and Satara routes. Similarly, another charging station with 18 charging points will come up at the Dapodi ST workshop and buses headed for Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar will be sent from there.”

Around 5,000 e-buses will be taken by the MSRTC in a phase-wise manner out of which 200 e-buses will be given to the MSRTC Pune division. These e-buses will be operated in the state under the name ‘E-Shivai’. These e-buses will be provided to different departments in a phased manner. Accordingly, some departments have got e-buses and they have started e-bus services on some routes. The first E-Shivai was started on the Pune-Nagar route in the Pune division in August 2023. Thereafter, E-Shivais have been running on the Pune to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar/Ahmednagar/Nashik/Kolhapur and Solapur routes.