New Delhi: Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday that the government was planning to introduce double-decker luxury buses on dedicated electric corridors that would be built along the highways.

“Public transport on electric is our dream," Gadkari said where. “Plans are underway to introduce double decker fleet of luxury buses to link metropolitan cities such as Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi-Ludhiana. The air-conditioned bus fleet will have all kind of services (that are) available in planes and will be more economical as they would run on alternative fuel."

Gadkari added that companies such as Volvo AB are interested in the project, which will help rein in the increase in the number of private vehicles on the roads. “The unprecedented growth of the automobile sector would require to construct a separate lane of highway every third year to accommodate these if not checked," said Gadkari.

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Mint had reported in March about the government’s plan to reserve one lane on each national highway for the exclusive use of electric buses and trucks. The project will be powered by overhead cables on a dedicated lane.

Gadkari said that if public transport starts running on alternative fuels like methanol, ethanol or electricity, India could cut its fuel import bills by Rs7 trillion.

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