E-Paper
Electric buses spark hope for sustainable transport in Bengaluru city
The Karnataka government received the first of its planned 90 electric buses to ply as Bengaluru Metro feeder service
Bengaluru
The Karnataka government on Thursday received the first of its planned 90 electric buses to ply as Bengaluru Metro feeder service, a move that is seen as part of the larger initiative to introduce more sustainable technologies to bring down pollution in the public transport sector.
“Our government is dedicated to ensure people get the best transport facilities. In addition, electric buses are being introduced in larger numbers to protect the environment. Request all people to make best use of this transport facility and also help reduce traffic congestion,” B Sriramulu, Karnataka’s minister for transport and scheduled tribe (ST) welfare said in a post on Twitter on Thursday.
The Bengaluru Smart City Ltd. will provide financial assistance of ₹50 crore for the operation of 90 electric buses and an incentive of ₹50 lakh per bus have been provided to the bidder, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) said, adding an additional ₹5 crore is set aside to set up charging infrastructure.
“The tender has been finalised and letter of award has been issued to M/s. NTPC Vypar Vidyut Nigam at GCC rate of ₹51.67/ km with electricity for 180 assured km for a period of 10 years. The buses have a seating capacity of 34 persons and can operate 120 kms on a single charge,” the BMTC said in a statement on Thursday.
People aware of the developments said the buses would begin in a phase-wise manner from next month when the government will flag off these services. The 90 buses will be operate in Yeswanthpura, KR Puram and Kengeri.
The EV (electric vehicle) initiative in the intra-city bus services is part of a larger plan of the state government to introduce more eco-friendly commute options for the public in a city that has seen its quality of air and water deteriorate in recent years, amplified by the intensifying construction and road repair works.
Experts said that ever since the Covid-19 pandemic-induced lockdown were lifted, the AQI (air quality index) has oscillated more sharply than before, HT reported on June 25.
In the 13 monitoring stations across Bengaluru, only one station near Mysuru Road had a rating of ‘good’ in the AQI index in August while most others were ‘satisfactory’ while two were in ‘moderate’ category, according to the Karnataka state Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) data.
Bengaluru has 9.4 million vehicles and pollution caused by them is the biggest reason for the deteriorating AQI in the city and its over 12 million residents.
The KSPCB claims have been contested be experts in the past as most of the monitoring stations are placed away from high-density roads and tucked away near lakes and open spaces that lead to inaccurate findings.
“If they acknowledge the problem then there has to be an intervention, action, followed by more work which they don’t want to do,” Madhusudhan Anand, chief technical officer at, Ambee, a Bengaluru-based startup that works to find solutions for air pollution earlier told HT.
For instance, the air monitoring centre in BTM Layout, one of the most congested localities in Bengaluru, is placed around a canopy of trees near Madiwala lake, away from the main road, which is unlikely to capture the true extent of the pollution.
According to KSPCB, in its revised action plan for the control of air pollution in Bengaluru, the city’s AQI -- a metric of daily air quality -- has fallen from 107.1 in 2014-15 to 88.1 in 2018-19, which shows a decreasing trend in the five-year annual average.
This data has been disputed even by elected representatives, apart from scientists and experts on the subject.
A 41-point action plan to mitigate air pollution, introduced by the state government, includes the implementation of LPG and bio-fuels, promoting battery operated vehicles, effective disposal of construction debris and operations of the metro among other measures to decrease the harmful pollutants entering the air.
Electric vehicles are a way forward but the lack of infrastructure and government support has led to hesitancy among the public who still prefer vehicles that use fossil fuels.
On September 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union cabinet approved a $3.5-billion incentive scheme aimed at boosting electric and hydrogen fuel powered vehicles production in the country.
But the difference between announcing a policy and implementing it has been the biggest challenge in cities like Benglauru, experts said.
The government has set a target of one charging station in a 3km radius grid in Bengaluru, as part of its 2017 EV Policy.
Companies like Ola, Uber, Bounce, Vogo and several others are looking at increasing EVs in their respective fleets to bring down capital and operational expenditure for service providers, reduce cost per km for users and help bring down pollution by keeping out smoke-emitting gasoline vehicles off the road. But none of this has come with government support and has been an investment of the private sector, according to people familiar with the matter.
Ola is investing ₹2,400 crore to set up a two-million per annum EV plant in Tamil Nadu. The Karnataka government earlier this year approved investments of ₹22,419 crore in three different proposals involving EV and lithium-ion battery manufacturing that has the potential to create nearly 5,000 new jobs. But these projects are yet to see any traction on the ground.
