New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI) The Delhi government's transport department has once again floated a tender for deploying electric scooters in the Dwarka sub-city to strengthen last-mile connectivity in the area, officials said.

The government plans to deploy thousands of electric scooters at around 90 locations in Dwarka, they added.

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"Bids floated for high speed and low speed scooters for first and last mile connectivity with bus stops and metro stations in Dwarka sub city," Delhi Transport Commissioner Ashish Kundra said in a post on 'X' on Thursday.

Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot told PTI that proposals have been invited from potential service providers for the deployment of high-speed e-scooters and low-speed e-scooters.

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"This move is to encourage last-mile connectivity in Dwarka. Subsequently, we will implement it in other areas too. This is the second time that the tender is being floated," he added.

A senior transport department official said the bids have been floated for the second time since there were no bidders in the first round. A pre-bid meeting will be held later this month to understand the market.

This time, the bid conditions have been modified.

He also said that this time, they have invited bids for electric scooters only and not cycles.

Under this, 3,000 electric vehicles will be deployed at 90 high-footfall locations, such as metro stations, bus depots, markets, malls and educational institutions in three phases.

Phase 1 will be launched with 1,500 vehicles, and they will include high-speed e-scooters and low-speed e-scooters. Phase 2 will introduce an additional minimum of 750 vehicles, while Phase 3 will complete the deployment of the remaining 750 vehicles, with the condition that they be offered for long-term hiring or rental.

Bidders will have the flexibility to operate different EV variants based on demand, he said.

Phase 1 of the project is to be implemented in six months, Phase 2 in four months and Phase 3 in another four months, followed by seven years for operations and maintenance. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 18 crore.

(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)