Government Set To Replace 30,000 Diesel Buses With Electric Buses - Report

Electric mobility is gaining traction everyday, and we always knew that public transport would move to becoming completely electric. While many state governments are slowly introducing electric buses to their public transport fleet, the Central Government is now reportedly seeking to replace as many as 30,000 diesel buses with electric ones in the next 2-3 years, generating a Rs. 28,000 crore business opportunity for bus manufacturers.

Also Read: Switch Mobility India Could Explore Smaller Electric Buses For India

Tata Motors has been supplying many state governments with electric buses.

According to Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), the size of the programme could expand more than three-fold over time. While talking to another publication, CESL managing director Mahua Acharya said that buses are an area of the highest impact, socially and environmentally, with the potential to expand the EV fleet size to about 1,00,000 units. "It (1,00,000 units) is very much doable. Switching public transport buses to electric would substantially help in reducing the crude imports, which is a priority for the government," said Acharya.

Also Read: Tata Motors To Supply 921 Electric Buses To The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation

However, one of the main areas of restriction is also the charging infrastructure, since even though chargers can be installed in bus depots, the grid will need to be upgraded to handle such loads. "We do a depot assessment, check transformers, study routes and then aggregate the demand across states to lower costs through scale," Acharya added, talking about the charging solutions. "This cost (of upgrading transformers and cable lines) cannot be socialised," she added.

Switch Mobility recently introduced an electric double-decker bus.

Also Read: Tata Motors to Supply 1,180 Electric Buses To West Bengal

According to a tender floated by CESL earlier this year, an electric bus seeks 27 per cent lower running rates when compared to diesel powered buses, and 23 per cent lower rates when compared to CNG powered buses, even before factoring in incentives. With over 16 lakh buses plying on Indian roads every day and most of them being diesel powered, an accelerated move to electric buses will not only result in a cleaner environment, but also a more profitable operation.

Source - ET Auto