[TusharK]

The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking has put four electric buses into service in Mumbai.



The electric buses will be based in the Backbay Depot, where a charger has been installed for them. Initially, these buses will ply on the South Mumbai routes, including those between CST and Colaba. Two more buses will be added later taking the total number of electric buses to six.



Goldstone Infratech Limited delivered their first electric bus for public transport to the Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) in September 2017. Maharashtra is the only other state where Goldstone's electric buses have entered service.



The Goldstone e-Buzz K7 electric buses have been certified by the ARAI. The buses can travel up to 200 km on a single charge at speeds of 70 km/h. They have a seating capacity of 31 including the driver. The electric buses come equipped with a Lithium-ion Iron Phosphate battery. The buses also have a fast charging technology that can completely recharge the batteries in less than 4 hours.

Link to Team-BHP News

[naturaldisaster]

200 km range for an electric bus is really good. I am sure those buses are quite expensive; mainly because of the batteries. Probably why only 4 buses were acquired to begin with.

[blackwasp]

This is great news. With average speed down to the 20s in peak hours, electric buses totally makes sense. Buses ply fixed routes, so there is no range anxiety unlike electric cars / taxis.

There is a hybrid Volvo run by the NMMT from Navi Mumbai to Andheri. I had interacted with the driver and he said these are highly fuel efficient compared to the regular diesels - especially in stop and go traffic. I can only imagine the savings from the electric buses.

Another idea that pops into my mind is the electric charging infrastructure. BEST has many depots in Mumbai and they could install the charging infrastructure at all these places on sharing basis - overnight for the buses and public users in the day. After all, BEST is an electric supply company first.

[sreeharipv]

I hope this trend continues. The fuel savings from daily operation can more than offset the delta of initial cost when you amortize it over a few years. Can't wait for the day the big diesels are gone.

[HKap]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

This is great news. With average speed down to the 20s in peak hours, electric buses totally makes sense. Buses ply fixed routes, so there is no range anxiety unlike electric cars / taxis.

There is a hybrid Volvo run by the NMMT from Navi Mumbai to Andheri. I had interacted with the driver and he said these are highly fuel efficient compared to the regular diesels - especially in stop and go traffic. I can only imagine the savings from the electric buses.

Another idea that pops into my mind is the electric charging infrastructure. BEST has many depots in Mumbai and they could install the charging infrastructure at all these places on sharing basis - overnight for the buses and public users in the day. After all, BEST is an electric supply company first.

I agree. In fact I think the buses in Mumbai are due for a refresh anyway. The fleet should comprise of only hybrids and electric buses. The hybrids can work on longer routes and the electric can take care of the shorter routes. We might need to come up with some swap-able batteries just in case a few buses run out of juice mid day. These buses have a capacity of 31 passengers plus the driver and a range of 200 kms. However, we know how packed our buses are during peak hour. The actual range might be a lot less. I'm thinking the real world number will be close to 100 kms range. I hope they've tested this out before buying them.

We need to work with Tesla to figure out how to get the 500 mile range with 80k lbs of cargo and still do 100kmph. I think a partnership between someone like Tata Motors and Tesla can go a long way in helping us solve our urban vehicle pollution problems (buses, cars, trucks). I hear electric bikes are coming up pretty soon too. Charging stations should come up at BEST depots, office buildings, residential buildings and malls. We don't need infrastructure like petrol pumps anymore. Petrol can't be made available everywhere but electricity can. So it should be a mandate that every new building will have a charging point for EVERY parking spot. Retrofitting this to old buildings may not be that hard either. Make this a paid service using credit/debit/smart cards or even cash. But just do it. It's not that hard.

Till such time I think the way to go is to make hybrid technology cheaper and let the manufacturers know that its a 7-8 year window to go all electric. Allow cheaper hybrid tech for another 7-8 years and then switchover to 100% electric.