E-buses soon between Mumbai and Pune

There was a time when travelling between Mumbai and Pune meant a ride in rickety State Transport buses, belching smoke. Currently, one can travel in AC comfort in Shivneri buses. Now, from the year-end, the ride will become eco-friendly as well with the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) planning to introduce 100 trips of `Shivai’ electric bus services on the Borivli-Thane-Pune route. Charging stations and maintenance/repair workshops are being set up in both cities.

A fully-charged Shivai bus can run 300 km at one go. The vehicles with 322 KV batteries take three hours to get fully-charged from zero.

The MSRTC had launched its first e-bus service between Pune and Ahmednagar on June 1.

The air-conditioned Shivai will cover the distance of about 180 km between the two cities in approximately four hours. The maximum speed of these buses is 80 km per hour. 

Currently, 158 trips of the premium Shivneri bus service are being operated between Mumbai and Pune. On a daily average, 3,300 passengers travel by Shivneri. Similarly, 18 trips of Shivneri ply between Thane and Pune. The average daily ridership of this service is 500 passengers.

Most of the Shivneri bus services between Mumbai and Pune will be gradually replaced by Shivai. The Shivneri fleet will be deployed on other routes.

The MSRTC has around 16,000 buses in its fleet. The Corporation has placed an order for the procurement of 700 non-AC buses and 150 AC electric counterparts. Of the 150 buses, 100 will be introduced on the Mumbai-Pune route while the rest of them will be introduced on other inter-city routes of the state.

The MSRTC was established on June 1, 1948, with the inaugural bus service between Pune and Ahmednagar.

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