Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday inaugurated 10 new electric buses, which were inducted into the fleet of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking.
Mr. Thackeray also launched the new mobile app, BEST Pravas, which will go live on Tuesday. The app will allow lakhs of commuters to track buses and get their expected time of arrival for every route. It will also allow people to set an alarm which will inform them when their stop arrives.
The 10 electric buses — six AC and four non-AC — will be pressed on Route no. 302, which runs from Sion station to Mulund Check Naka. Officials said the buses would soon ply on routes C-42, 352 and 63 as well. “BEST should aim to charge these new buses using renewable energy sources like solar energy and make BEST and Mumbai 100% pollution free,” Mr. Thackeray said.
The 10 buses are part of 40 such vehicles funded under the first phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME 1) scheme. The remaining are expected to be inducted in batches by the end of the month. Arvind Sawant, Union Minister for Heavy Industries, said his ministry has approved 750 new electric buses for the State under FAME 2 scheme, the highest in the country.
The BEST has procured these buses on a wet lease basis from Secunderabad-based Olectra Greentech Limited, who will provide a driver, maintain the buses and pay for the electricity. “We have created a charging station at Dharavi depot, which will be the base for the 40 buses. The buses take three hours to charge and can run around 200 km on a single charge,” Anand Swaroop, chief operating officer of the company, said. BEST will pay the company ₹55.71 per kilometer for its AC buses and ₹51.75 per kilometer for the non AC buses. Mr. Swaroop said each bus costs around ₹1.5 crore to manufacture.
BEST had finalised two contractors to provide 40 electric buses each under the FAME 1 scheme, but one contractor has since backed out. BEST general manager Surendrakumar Bagde said they would invite tender for 340 more electric buses, which will include the balance 40 buses under FAME 1 and 300 under FAME 2.
