In a first, citizens in Hyderabad can avail an electric car from the Miyapur Metro Rail station for last mile connectivity.
Around 25 Mahindra E20 plus cars were launched by the L&T Hyderabad Metro Rail and Zoomcar on Friday and are made available at a cost of Rs 8.50 per km or a monthly subscription of Rs 10,000.
“At the Miyapur station, the charging facility is almost 80 percent done, it will be complete in the next 10 days. In future, this facility will be given in all stations which is in line with the goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to switch over from fossil fuels to renewable resources by 2030,” HMRL managing director N V S Reddy told reporters.
Explaining how it works, officials said that citizens have to download the Zoomcar app and register their names with their driving licence details, following which the car will automatically unlock and give them access.
“This is our first partnership with Metro services in the country and Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited has extended all support. It is offering public charging infrastructure to charge the cars at Miyapur," Zoomcar India Private Limited Chief Operating Officer Sudhindra Reddy told reporters.
Earlier this week, Telangana Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao said that the Hyderabad Metro Rail would make its services from Ameerpet to LB Nagar, operational by the last week of July this year.
If the stretch till LB Nagar opens, it would mean that the entire Corridor 1 of the metro project is completed.
The 30 km-long section of the first corridor from Nagole to Miyapur was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 28 last year and has 24 stations, which covers a large part of the city - from the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium at Uppal to Osmania University and the Secunderabad Railway Station, to other areas like Ameerpet and Kukatpally.
Speaking to the media last month, HMRL Managing Director NVS Reddy said that the 16-km stretch between Ameerpet and LB Nagar as part of Corridor-I would be completed by July this year, while the work between Ameerpet and Hitec City will be done by October.
Meanwhile, works related to Corridor-II between JBS and MGBS are expected to finish early next year.