Under the Dehradun Smart City project, five smart electric buses are now plying on the ISBT-Rajpur route in the city. On Monday, Doonites were thrilled to ride in these smart buses.
We interacted with Babar Khan and Vipin Kumar, the driver and conductor of one of the smart bus stationed in Rajpur. They said, “As of now, five buses are operating on the ISBT-Rajpur route. It takes approx 1.5 hours to fully charge a smart electric bus. As per the current schedule, the first bus will start at 6 AM from ISBT and the last bus will start at 10 PM from Rajpur. Around 35 smart electric buses will be inducted under the Doon Connect scheme.”

“We are very happy to be associated with such a great initiative by the Dehradun Smart City Limited. These buses will contribute to a cleaner and greener environment,” they added.
There are 32 stops on the ISBT-Rajpur route, and each stop is approximately 490 meters apart. A charging station for these smart electric buses has been built in Transport Nagar.
The 32 stops on the ISBT-Rajpur route are:
ISBT – Shimla Bypass – Majra – ITI Niranjanpur – Sabzi Mandi Chowk – Patel Nagar Police Chowki – Lal Pul – PNB Patel Nagar – Mata Wala Bagh – Saharanpur Chowk – Railway Station – Prince Chowk – Cyber Police Station – Tehsil Chowk – Darshan Lal Chowk – Clock Tower – Gandhi Park – St. Joseph’s Academy – Secretariat – Behl Chowk – Dilaram Chowk – Madhuban Hotel – Ajanta Chowk – Survey of India – NIVH Front Gate – Jakhan – Pacific Mall – Inder Bawa Marg – Mussoorie Diversion – Sai Mandir – GRD Institute/Tehri House.
The smart electric buses can seat 25 passengers excluding the driver. The buses include several state-of-the-art amenities, such as dedicated slots to place wheelchairs, hydraulic-powered ramps for the differently-abled, air suspension at the front and rear, automatic transmission, and hydraulic power steering. Other facilities include air-conditioning, USB-port for each seat, three CCTV cameras, GPS, grab handles, stoppage display, variable message display, emergency button, emergency hammer, etc.