Nagpur, India: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has contracted M/s Hansa City Bus Services (Nagpur) Private Limited to procure and operate e-buses in the city. A letter of award (LOA) was issued to the firm just prior to the implementation of the model code of conduct for the Assembly elections. Under the terms of the ₹1,300 crore tender, the firm will supply 250 electric buses to the corporation, as well as maintain and operate them.

A news report stated that the NMC issued tenders for e-bus procurement in November 2023 and received only two bids. One bid was from M/s Hansa City Bus Services, while the other was from M/s Every Trans Private Limited, based in Hyderabad.

The tender was subsequently canceled because Hansa’s bid was rejected for technical reasons, and the other bid could not be considered as it became the only bid for the contract. The project was retendered in March, but only M/s Every Trans Private Limited submitted a bid.

The bid advanced to the financial clearance stage when the NMC reached out to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which was also using M/s Every Trans's services. The BMC determined that the rates proposed by the bidder were too high, leading to the collapse of negotiations. As a result, the NMC canceled the tender again and issued it for a third time, ultimately awarding it to M/s Hansa City Bus Services.

The project received administrative approval in 2022 for expanding its bus fleet but was delayed due to various technical issues. In this instance, another Hyderabad-based company responded to the tender and successfully passed the technical evaluation stage.

The contract was ultimately awarded to M/s Hansa City Bus Services because they offered a lower rate than the Hyderabad-based company. The contractor has been allotted 300 days to deliver the vehicles. The NMC plans to phase out its existing fleet of JNNURM standard buses and replace them with zero-emission e-buses.