Each bus has a passenger seating capacity of 30 and is equipped with a low floor, which makes it passenger friendly.
Mumbai will soon have its own fleet of eco-friendly public transport buses that will not contribute to the rising levels of pollution related to vehicular emission!
Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) purchased six battery operated buses for ₹10 crore from Goldstone Infratech Limited, of which four have already been received by the civic body earlier in November.
The red-and-silver buses, once charged, can travel up to 200 km at a speed of 70km per hour and function on lithium-ion iron phosphate batteries that require three hours to be fully charged.
Each bus has a passenger seating capacity of 30 and is equipped with a low floor, which makes it passenger friendly. Also, these buses do not have gearboxes or clutch pedals like regular buses, which makes it convenient for drivers to navigate out of crowded roads.
Parked at the BEST’s Backbay depot which has a unique charging facility, the ARAI-certified buses will initially operate on South Mumbai routes, including those between CST and Colaba and expand in a phased manner. While four buses are modelled on the Chinese BYD K-7 bus, the other two buses are fashioned on the Indian VE Skyline Pro bus, reports Hindustan Times.
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At ₹1.65 crore each, these buses cost higher than regular fossil-fuel consuming buses, which are priced around ₹50 lakh. The BEST panel had approved the proposal for the battery-operated buses in March last year.
With this move, the authorities hope to tackle air and noise pollution in the city that has been struggling to keep up with its increasing vehicular traffic.
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