BANGALORE: Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has introduced the country’s first electric zero-emission bus in the city. The bus was officially launched by Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy after getting the required permissions from the Transport Department. The bus will run on a trial basis for the next three months. During this time, it will operate along various routes, beginning with one from Majestic to Kadugodi that is likely to cost `80.
Plans are also afoot to run the bus along the airport routes. The charging point for the bus is at the Volvo depot at Majestic. “We will study whether the bus is economical and if it can function efficiently in the city. When the battery is fully charged (six hours), the bus can run for about 250 km, which is ideal for BMTC. However, this needs to be tested. We also need to see how it fares on various roads in the city and which routes are best suited to operate the bus,” said BMTC managing director Anjum Parvez.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said that though the bus is expensive, it is likely to be a good deal as a long-term investment. “The bus costs about Rs 2.7 crore and is expensive. But once the demand for the bus goes up and more people express interest in purchasing it, the rates are likely to come down. Moreover, the research and development wings of various bus manufacturers are working on this and it is some only time before the initial cost of the bus is reduced,” he said.
Read the full report here, New Indian Express
