Chandigarh, Mar 8 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday launched the electric city bus service for Panchkula and Karnal, and announced that the bus service will be free for the first seven days.

On this occasion, Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta was also present.

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Currently, five buses each have been incorporated into the electric city bus service in Panchkula and Karnal, with plans for additional buses to join the fleet soon, said an official statement.

The fare for these 45-seater e-buses has been set at Rs 10 for the first five kilometers, followed by an increase of Rs 5 for every three km thereafter. The route of the city bus service will be tailored to accommodate the demands and needs of the city's residents.

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Besides, the city bus service will be gradually expanded to neighbouring towns in a phased manner.

Speaking on the occasion, Khattar said that the facility of city bus service had already been introduced in Panipat and Yamunanagar. Following the launch of the e-bus service in Panchkula and Karnal, similar services will soon commence in five other cities -- Ambala, Sonipat, Rewari, Rohtak, and Hisar, he added.

According to the statement, the newly launched electric bus service is projected to save approximately 4,20,000 litres of diesel over a span of 10 years.

These buses are powered by fast-charging lithium-ion batteries and come equipped with a real-time passenger information system (PIS), panic buttons for emergencies, vehicle location and tracking systems, CCTV cameras, public address systems, stop request buttons, fire detection systems, and alarms, among other modern features, it said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)