Days are not far when zero emission and noise-free buses will make public transport eco-friendly and electrifying with Mysuru apparently chosen for the launch of e-bus concept (electric or battery-operated buses).
Thanks to the Centre’s grand plan of introducing green buses in select cities for giving new dimension to public transport, Mysuru’s intra-city operators are likely to get about 50 electric buses for operations on select routes. More than 45 AC buses are at present operated on key routes.
Since the battery-operated buses are air-conditioned, the authorities may gradually discontinue the AC buses already in use.
Sources in the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) told The Hindu that electric buses may replace the air-conditioned buses that are presently operated on “premium” routes. The AC buses were operated on at least 25 schedules here, mostly to the areas where the revenue collection was reasonably good.
Mysuru is considered a “model city” for transport initiatives since it was the first city to have introduced the Intelligent Transport System or the Mitra with World Bank funding. Likewise, many initiatives have been launched with the Centre’s funding over the last six to seven years.
“We have been told about the e-bus concept and the allotment of electric buses in the coming months. e-bus may be a small segment in the public transport but the idea is to promote green transport,” a KSRTC official said.
“More details on the concept are awaited, including its make, features, mechanical specification and so on,” the official added.
Bengaluru is said to be another city identified for e-bus concept.
In the past, electric buses were introduced in Bengaluru but they had to be discontinued for various reasons, including feasibility factor.
“But the buses that are being proposed for the rolling out are said to be more viable for operations with a running distance of about 120 km a day per charge. The buses need to be charged every day with multiple battery charging points in depots and terminus for interruption-free charging,” the sources added.
Eco-friendly electric buses would have hit the road in Mysuru long back under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM), the Union government’s flagship programme. But the project did not take off based on the feedback what the authorities got after the trial run of a couple of electric buses in Bengaluru.
Commenting on electric buses, some transport officials had pointed out earlier that the zero emission battery-operated buses were ideal for cities like Mysuru. But maintenance of such buses needs to be studied before introducing them since there is an impression of electric buses to be expensive and needed appropriate maintenance. Easy access of a battery charging station was also important for interruption-free operations, they said.
