After getting all 90 electric buses (e-buses) under the Bengaluru Smart City Project, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is struggling to utilise the entire fleet owing to a shortage of charging points.
The BMTC had launched the e-bus service in the last week of December 2021. The BMTC had identified three depots for operations of e-buses: Kengeri, Yeshwantpur and K.R. Puram. As per the plan, the corporation required 23 charging points, but, at present, only four are available at Kengeri depot.
BMTC officials said that the process of setting up the required infrastructure is under way.
“Under the Smart City Project, we had leased e-buses from NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. Being a government agency, the NTPC has to follow a tender process to select a contractor to build the required infrastructure. We have been told that they are expediting the process of building the infrastructure. In Yeshwantpur depot, charging points will be ready in a week. In K R Puram, it may take up to 20 days. Once the infrastructure is ready, each depot will operate 30 e-buses,” an official said.
75% occupancy
Using the four charging points at Kengeri depot, the BMTC is operating 24 buses as feeder services to Namma Metro. Officials say the response from commuters is encouraging. “After the launch in December 2021, ridership for city buses dropped owing to a surge COVID-19 cases, and e-buses were no exception. In February, the ridership began picking up. As per the agreement, the BMTC is paying ₹51 per kilometre to the operator. At present, the earning per km stands at around ₹27,” the official said.
As per the agreement, each bus is operated for a distance of 180 km per day.
Though there has been criticism that leasing of e-buses is not a good idea, BMTC officials say it is premature to come to the conclusion that operation of leased e-buses would result in a financial burden on the corporation. Leasing could turn out to be beneficial in the long run, they believe.
An official said, “If you compare with diesel buses, operation of e-buses is likely to be economical in the longer run. Every year, the corporations pay thousands of crores of rupees for fuel, and the amount is increasing every year. In the case of leasing e-buses, we are paying operational cost per kilometre. The investment required for bus, driver, charging and other infrastructure is made by the operator. We only provide the conductor.”
