Decarbonising urban mobility

For commuters used to noisy public transport buses belching black smoke, electric buses are a boon. Not only are they zero noise, they are also zero emission. 

Half the electric buses in India are in Maharashtra. Of the 958 electric buses running on Indian roads, some 49% (476) are in Maharashtra. Gujarat (7.6%) and West Bengal (7.14%) are a distant second and third.

Electric buses not only reduce air pollution they also reduce the carbon footprint. Projections indicate four in ten buses sold in the country could be electric by 2030. Though they are 1.5 times costlier than diesel buses they save on fuel and maintenance.

The vision and the roadmap for the faster adoption of electric vehicles and their manufacturing in the country is provided by the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020.

Since urban local bodies found it difficult to purchase e-buses, the Central government encouraged a 'gross cost contract' of procuring electric buses. 

In this model, instead of outright purchases, state transport corporations simply paid original equipment manufacturers or e-bus operators a per km cost for operations and maintenance. This model removes the risk involved in new technologies and puts the onus of charging buses on the private player.

Mumbai’s BEST at it

The country’s premier city public transport agency, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking (BEST), has 396 electric buses in its fleet of 3.651. Except for 22, the rest of them are air-conditioned. The BEST has set a target of 1,800 buses (45% of current fleet) to be electric by mid-2023.

It has awarded Olectra Greentech Limited a Rs 3,675-cr tender to procure 2,100 electric buses worth Rs 3,675 crore. The buses will be delivered over a period of 12 months.

Pune is a pioneer

With 220 e-buses in its fleet of 2,169 buses, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) operates one of the largest municipal e-bus fleets in India. In fact, Pune's e-buses have already travelled a distance equivalent to nearly 20 round trips to the moon. With expansion of the e-bus fleet in mind, the Pune Municipal Corporation plans to set up 500 charging stations for electric vehicles in a phased manner. It takes four hours to charge a bus which can then run up to 200 km.

On June 1, the first electric bus service of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) was launched on the Pune-Ahmednagar route. Christened ‘Shivaee’, the 12-metre-long bus with a seating capacity of 43 can reach speeds of 80 kmph.

Navi Mumbai is not far behind

The Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) has a fleet of 475 of which 150 are electric buses. Their charging stations are at Turbhe and Ghansoli.

The NMMT plies the maximum number of eco-friendly e-buses on Saturday and Sunday, which have been declared as zero fuel days. This initiative is saving Rs 70 lakhs per month. 

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