The Logical Indian Crew

Green Rides: Bengaluru Gets Its First Electric Bus, Will Offer Metro Feeder Service

Writer: Neelima Mishra

Guru Govind Singh Indraprashtha University in New Delhi is where Neelima Mishra is doing her master's degree. She graduated from Delhi University with a bachelor's degree in journalism (hons.). She is pursuing a corporate communication specialisation at IP University.

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India, 1 Oct 2021 6:21 AM GMT

Editor : Palak Agrawal |

Palak a journalism graduate believes in simplifying the complicated and writing about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. She calls herself a " hodophile" or in layman words- a person who loves to travel.

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Creatives : Palak Agrawal

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Feeder bus services are designed to act as connecting links —to pick up passengers in a certain locality and to ferry them to the Namma Metro stations where they can make an onward journey.

Bengaluru's first electric bus was unveiled by Transport Minister B Sriramulu on Thursday, September 30. It will run as a feeder service at Namma Metro stations and eliminate last-mile connectivity problems faced by Metro passengers.

Feeder services are designed to act as connecting links —to pick up passengers in a certain locality and to ferry them to the Namma Metro stations where they can make an onward journey.

The first of 90 electric buses was introduced at the Kengeri depot and as many as 300 additional buses would be procured in the coming days. The buses have been built by Uttar Pradesh's JBM Auto Limited and handed over to the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).

E-buses will operate from the BMTC's Yeshwantpur and KR Puram facilities in addition to Kengeri. Each e-bus will be able to ferry 33 passengers. Commercial operation of these buses would begin on Kannada Rajyotsava, according to BMTC authorities, as reported by The Indian Express.

The BMTC, in collaboration with Smart City Bengaluru and the National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd, is launching the buses. According to officials, the automotive company would dispatch 90 mini-electric buses as part of the project, which will cost ₹130 crore. There is a tremendous underlying opportunity for effective delivery of road transport service in India.

As per reports, the BMTC will install charging points for the buses at the depots and provide the infrastructure needed to run the e-buses at the three depots.

Electric buses (e-buses) will pave the way for a more efficient mass public transportation system in the future. Apart from being cleaner and greener, the major advantage of an e-bus is its extremely low operational and maintenance (O&M) expenditure per unit km. The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of e-buses is 10-20 per cent lesser than that of diesel buses.

In September 2017, the first commercial e-bus operations began in India in Himachal Pradesh. Since then, the e-bus market has evolved substantially. By March 2020, about 1,031 e-buses were sold across different states and transport undertakings.

Increasing The Demand For E-buses

The right government actions can assist in the rapid decarbonization of public transportation. In the recent past, India has done so successfully.

All public buses in the National Capital Region (NCR), which includes Delhi and its neighbouring cities, switched from diesel to less-polluting compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel in the early 2000s. Other state governments are electrifying a minor fraction of their fleets, including Delhi (300), Goa (150), Chandigarh (80), Uttar Pradesh (700), Tamil Nadu (2,000), and Gujarat.

E-buses: Green Transport

Despite the fact that most people prefer to drive in their own cars rather than taking public transportation in the post-COVID-19 era, the attractiveness of sustainable mobility services is believed to be at an all-time high, according to a recent survey by Lithium Urban Technologies.

Outside of China, the company possesses the world's largest fleet of electric vehicles and is India's first zero-emission service. The study focuses on promising sustainable transportation trials in Bangalore, well known as India's Silicon Valley. It also reflects a growing interest in sustainable mobility alternatives, with 88 per cent of respondents saying they would like to take office transit instead of driving.

Making Long-Term Preparations

It will take decades to decarbonize India's polluted cities. Indian transport providers, both public and commercial, can leapfrog internal combustion engine development by turning electric. This is critical in order to meet tighter pollution regulations. Because of the country's transportation system, it makes sense to start with buses. T

hey are a lifeline for the impoverished and the preferred mode of public transportation for reaching out to the outskirts of India's cities. Intra-city buses continue to play a significant role in millions of people's daily commutes in Indian cities. In order to promote the electrification of public transportation, dependable and broad charging infrastructure will be essential. This would kickstart a grassroots campaign to create an electric vehicle ecosystem.

Also Read: This Kerala Youth's Flight From Paddy Fields To UK Is All Hardwork 

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Writer : Neelima Mishra

Editor : Palak Agrawal

Creatives : Palak Agrawal

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