E-Bus: Solution for Transit Problems
A row of electric buses parked at the Bhekrai Nagar bus depot of Pune, a rare site of e-bus in India. Some of them are connected to charging stations, recharging their batteries, while others hold back to begin their next trip. Outside the depot, a group of passengers are waiting to board one of the 90 electric buses (e–buses). The scene is occurring daily, yet underneath the surface lies a unique test in running a naturally economical city travel framework. In January 2019, Pune turned into be the first Indian city to embrace e-transports and Bhekrai Nagar the nation’s first all-electric transport warehouse. As of November 2019, up to 133 electric vehicles (EVs) have been sent over the city in the period of its e-bus program.
Green Comfort
In Pune the E-buses have become the preferred choice of transit for many commuters. “People wait for e-buses now, especially in the hot summer months. They don’t like to get onto non-air conditioned CNG or diesel buses,” Praneet Baiju coordinator of electric bus program in the city. “The older (Diesel or CNG) buses were noisy and dusty and I would often feel nauseous in them,” said Kirti Chaudhary, 30 years old Bhekrai Nagar local who travels by bus every day to her computer class. “The electric buses are pollution-free, air-conditioned, and much more smoother.”
Zero Tail Pipe Emission
Globally, it is well established that e-buses are the new best way forward for mass transit. They exist at the conjunction of public transport and e-mobility, the two of which lower air contamination and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission. Under the Narendra Modi’s leadership e-bus in India program, FAME II, plan is to send 5,095 e-transports across Indian urban. Over their lifetime, these (FAME II) buses will run 30 lakh kilometres without tailpipe emission, save 7 lakh barrels worth of oil and 6 thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. Disregarding these advantages, India’s public transport specialists have been reluctant to induct them into their fleets. Their greater expenses make them restrictive for city travel specialists reeling under financial duress. While a standard 12-meter e-bus costs Rs 2 crore, a comparative CNG transport is estimated at just Rs 48 lakh, and a diesel one even less. However, e-buses do have an economic edge over conventional buses, their operational cost and maintenance cost are cheaper.