Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) will soon provide charging facilities for electric cars at their depots. The plan comes on the heels of the recent World Health Organisation’s report which states that pollution in the city had touched record levels. The transport and electricity distributor currently has charging points at the Backbay Depot for its electric buses.
“We are planning two charging stations at Backbay Depot and Worli Depot. These will be built for cars,” said Surendrakumar Bagde, General Manager of BEST. According to BEST officials, customers will be charged commercial rates, levied on non-residential consumers like offices, shops, etc.
The BEST currently has six electric buses, procured for ₹ 1.65 crore each, which it runs in South Mumbai. It is planning to procure 80 more electric buses with subsidy under the Central Government’s scheme for, Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. Mr. Bagde said the buses will only be procured on a wet lease model, where the subsidy it receives from the Centre will be passed on to contractors. The Central Government has set a target to convert all public transport to electric vehicles by 2030.
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“We can expect more electric vehicles in the city and we should use our depots as recharging facilities. Other companies are already doing it,” said BEST Committee member Atul Shah. Between April 2016 and December 2017, only 1,749 electric vehicles were registered.