Public transportation at the abode of Lord Venkateswara is set to witness a greener transformation, with the Public Transport Department (earlier APSRTC) deciding to ply 100 EV buses for its Alipiri depot, which operates a chunk of services to Tirumala.
Fifty buses will be earmarked for the Tirumala-Tirupati ghat services, while the other 50 y will be deployed for inter-city services from Tirupati towards Nellore, Kadapa and Madanapalle.
As per the tie-up arranged with the supplier, the latter will ensure supply of buses, manpower (including drivers and technical staff) and also take care of the regular maintenance. At full charge, a bus can roughly cover a distance of 240 km and hence the department has apparently chosen destinations that are 110 to 140 km away from Tirupati.
A rough estimate pegs the operational cost at ₹54 per km on ghat roads and ₹34 per km on plain routes.
The sprawling Alipiri depot spread across 5.34 acres at the foot of the hills is getting a thorough makeover for the launch of the EV services. At any point of time, 50 buses will be parked for maintenance and charging at the dedicated 2.5 acre-site earmarked for these EV buses. Tirupati, Madanapalle, Kadapa and Nellore depots will also get charging stations soon.
Alipiri depot has been chosen for the launch as part of the State government’s priority to keep Tirumala green and bring down pollution on the serene hills, apart from reducing dependence on fossil fuels. However, with the limited space available in the depot premises, which already caters to the maintenance of 81 regular buses, the arrival of a huge fleet is feared to cause space crunch in the near future.
