[khanak]

MUMBAI: The BEST has issued tenders for procuring 1,900 fully electric buses, signalling one of the biggest electric bus fleet expansions in the country. It will issue tenders in the next few days for procuring 200 double deckers, which will also be fully electric, sources said.

“We want to make nearly 50% of our fleet electric by 2023,” BEST general manager Lokesh Chandra said on Monday evening. “We have floated the tender for 1,900 buses which will include 1,400 full-length buses of 12 metres, 100 Mini buses and 400 Midi buses,” he said.

The maximum period, as per the tender notice, for procuring the 1,900 buses is one-and-a-half years, with 25% new electric bus procurement (475 buses) for Mumbai in six months, 25% in the next six months and 50% thereafter.
The state government’s Electric Vehicle policy calls for the public transport undertaking maintaining a 15% fleet as ‘electric’ by 2025. Chandra said that the BEST has taken this target seriously. At present, the BEST has charging stations at four bus depots, but it will soon increase this facility to all 27 depots.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/86383277.cms

[anb]

What is the range of these buses? In 2019, I travelled in Electric bus run by Kerala SRTC. The bus was made by BYD and it has a range of 250 km. Bus used to run between Trivandrum and Kochi (220 km) and there was a charging station in between at Haripad. They used to take 30 mins break for charging. KSRTC didn't purchase these buses. The buses were on lease at a rate of Rs.41/km.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by anb

The buses were on lease at a rate of Rs.41/km.

Yikes! That is steep.

Assuming the bus makes one round trip a day, that's almost 65 lacs/year on a lease. How does this work for the cash strapped Kerala Government?

[AkMar]

Today a case has been reported where a BEST Tata EV ran out of battery on route. More details not known. Source: https://twitter.com/Pritesh7994/stat...863970307?s=20

[khanak]

Tata Motors and Tata Power set up EV charging infra at fourth BEST depot in Mumbai

[AkMar]

There are complaints of excessive noise from Tata EV buses which are part of BEST's fleet. Videos posted on social media: Video 1, video 2

Note that both the buses are making some sound while stationary. You would expect EV to be silent while stationary.

JBM & Olectra e buses are pretty silent compared to this

[Rahul Rao]

Pune has 175 Ac Electric buses with another 150 on the way. The buses have an official range of 250 km, but they run 300+ km every day with a top up charge when one shift ends and second begins. Routes as high as 60 km Bhekrainagar to Ranjangaon MIDC also have electric buses. A bus that departs from Bhekrainagar which has a charging station goes to Ranjangao 55 km , then returns to Kharadi 45 km, then back to Ranjangaon and then to Bhekrainagar in one shift. This keeps the running just above 200 km, and bus returns with 20% battery. After an Hrs charge the second shift starts which is under 150km.
Some buses do the reverse.

Rahul

[khanak]

Mumbai: The fleet of electric buses in BEST will be increased six times this year with orders for 2,100 more such buses to be placed by January 2022. This will bring it close to its target of electrifying 50% of the entire fleet in the near future.

What is significant is that BEST is now going for 1,400 “bigger” single decker AC electric buses which measure 12 metres in length (as against 9 metre Midi and 7 metre Mini buses). This will increase the carrying capacity of office-goers and reduce wait time at the stops.
“We have had enough of smaller buses that can access any lane and bylane of the city. We now want to focus on expediting journeys for office-goers and carrying maximum people in a single ride,” said BEST general manager Lokesh Chandra. The 12-metre buses will be deployed on longer routes, arterial roads and also on all office-going routes during peak hours, he added.

The other buses scheduled to be ordered in early 2022 are 400 AC electric Midis and 100 AC electric Minis, besides 200 AC electric double deckers. Commuters who spoke to TOI said introducing more electric buses should be coupled with “proper planning and deployment”. “The buses should not be bunched in close proximity on the same route, and the frequency should be such that there is a reasonable gap of at least 5 minutes between every bus. Otherwise, if 3 buses arrive together, one has to wait for 20-30 minutes for the fourth,” said Vikram Shukla, a regular bus commuter from CSMT to Colaba.

Another office-goer said the new AC electric buses are operated by private agencies who provide the drivers. “These drivers need to be sensitised by BEST and trained not to drive rashly,” he said. On Wednesday, BEST also floated tenders to invite bids from private contractors for setting up 55 new public e-charging stations which will come up at the bus depots and bus stations across Mumbai in 2022. Sources said the contracts will be signed for 10 years; the e-charging stations on BEST plots will have charging points for buses, cars and two wheelers.
“In future, we have decided to use only solar, solar-wind or hydro-based energy to power our e-buses,” Chandra said. He said that the undertaking will procure adequate solar energy by June 2023, to cater to over 2,100 electric buses.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/88676119.cms

[khanak]

New Delhi:
BEST, the iconic red double-decker bus in Mumbai, is going electric and it will soon procure 900 such buses for the city, minister Aaditya Thackeray announced Thursday in a string of tweets.

"CM Uddhav Thackeray and I have been personally keen on reviving Mumbai's iconic double-decker buses," tweeted the Minister.

"While doing so, the BEST is procuring 900 of them, fully electric and emission-free. As we increase our BEST fleet, ultimately to 10,000 electric/clean alternate fuel buses, our aim is to have maximum double-decker buses, as this increases our capacity," he added.

The tourism and environment Minister said he has requested civic chiefs of other cities in the state to add these double-decker electric buses to their fleet.

"Along with Mumbai, I have requested municipal commissioners of other cities who are procuring electric buses to also add double-decker electric buses into their fleets on busy routes," said Mr Thackeray.

The BEST undertaking provides public bus services in Mumbai and neighbouring cities, including Thane, Mira-Bhayander and Navi Mumbai. Around 25 lakh passengers travel daily in the BEST buses.

The Minister also thanked the Best chairman for accepting the government's suggestion.

1 Comments "I thank BEST chairman @AshishChemburk1 ji, GM Lokesh Chandra ji, and the committee of BEST for honouring our suggestion," he said.

https://www.ndtv.com/mumbai-news/mum...n-city-2733296

[Yohan Poncha]

The smaller busses which they have introduced will also be more efficient

[AkMar]

BEST has awarded contract of 2100 electric buses to Olectra. These are to be supplied over a period of 12 months.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/91749157.cms

[ajilphilip]

Originally Posted by IamNikhil

Seems like another gimmick by the politicians. .

Was in Mumbai earlier this month. Lots of electric AC buses on the road. And the ticket rates are same as that of non-AC. Rs. 6 upto 5 km.
The buses are clean and well maintained. Public transport is really being pushed hard in Mumbai

[IamNikhil]

Originally Posted by ajilphilip

Was in Mumbai earlier this month. Lots of electric AC buses on the road. And the ticket rates are same as that of non-AC. Rs. 6 upto 5 km.
The buses are clean and well maintained. Public transport is really being pushed hard in Mumbai

Yes, they have launched a lot of electric routes. Service seems good as of now. Many plans in the pipeline to augment these routes. Hoping for the best!

[volkman10]

BEST's electric bus catches fire during battery charging; no injuries reported.



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