Commuters can expect a long wait before they can use eco-friendly electric buses. With the aim of inducting buses that run on electricity and compressed natural gas (CNG) into its fleet, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation is hoping that the Union and State governments will look favourably at their request for financial assistance.
Last week, in a board meeting of the BMTC, in-principle approval was given for the purchase of 150 electric buses. This is a move to make the purchase process easier if financial help can be secured, sources said.
While the State government has announced an interest subvention for procurement of 1,000 buses in this year’s budget, the BMTC is hoping that a larger amount could be given for public transport in the coming one.
The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (hybrid) and Electric vehicles in India (FAME) scheme of the Central government could be a source of finance for the electric buses if the vehicles purchased are manufactured in the country.
BMTC will not be able to procure these buses on its own as each bus can cost up to Rs 2.9 crore compared with the Rs 1 crore for an air-conditioned bus.
“We can look at the purchase of electric and CNG buses if we receive some financial support from the State government and under Central schemes, similar to JNNURM. The cost of the buses is high but their benefits are also more,” said Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy.
Although GAIL Gas has set up a CNG refill station off Magadi Road, there are hardly any takers for the environmentally friendly fuel in the absence of a sustained campaign for CNG by the government. GAIL Gas was in talks with the BMTC to set up three depots at Sumanahalli, Peenya and Hennur on BMTC property as part of its larger plans to set up 60 CNG stations across the city. But BMTC seems to be unable to procure these expensive buses without financial assistance.
The eco-friendly trials
In 2014, an announcement to procure 271 CNG buses was made but was scrapped with the exit of the JNNURM scheme. In 2014, BMTC announced the country's first electric bus trial, but it did not result in purchase of the vehicle. The corporation has also experimented with hybrid vehicles and retrofitting of CNG kits to bring costs down. However, it isn't clear if there is any progress.
Cost of...
Electric bus: Rs 2.9 crore
AC diesel bus: Rs 1 crore
CNG bus: Rs 90 lakh
Diesel bus: Rs 50 lakh
