India has got the first zero-emission, pure electric bus in Bangalore, in the state of Karnataka.
BYD, a leading electric vehicle manufacturer in the world, has provided the 40-foot bus to Bangalore Metropolitan Transport. The bus achieves up to 24 hours of service on a single night-time charge — longer than any other electric bus in the market today, BYD said.
Vishwas, vice president of BYD India’s distribution partner, Utopia, said, “We are very bullish on the prospect of new energy vehicles in India. We look forward to working with BYD to promote the popularization of new energy vehicles.”
Many Indian cities including Bangalore are choked with air pollution. Bangalore, known as the silicon valley of India, has witnessed rapid urbanization and population rise in the recent years.
Officials at the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) said this is a huge step for the Nation of India and will hopefully develop into a public transportation initiative across India benefiting their 1.2 billion citizens.
“Operating electric buses not only to initialize and support new technologies, shows our respect to the city and urban residents with our social and environmental responsibility,” said Karnataka State Minister of Transportation – Ramalinga Reddy, in a ceremony held last Friday.
Although the electric bus comes with a higher initial price tag, officials expressed confidence that the total cost of ownership for the vehicle would make initial investments well worth the price. Further, overall benefits outweigh the cost. Since the bus does not have a fuel engine, it is noiseless and does not incur huge operational and maintenance costs.
Electric buses are not only zero emission vehicles but also yield high economic value. While traditional diesel buses consume 0.55 L of diesel per kilometer in India, BYD’s 40 foot all-electric bus only consumes about 1 Kwh electric per kilometer (with no HVAC).
As part of the National Electric Vehicle Plan (2020), the Government of India has planned to put in places as many as 6-7 million new energy vehicles by 2020.
BYD electric buses have been operating successfully in various European countries besides China, officials said. They feature many advanced technologies developed in house by BYD’s engineers. They include the environmentally friendly, Iron-Phosphate (or “Fe”) batteries that are fire safe, in-wheel hub motors and regenerative braking.
The bus can drive for more than 250 km (155 miles) even in heavy city traffic on a single charge, BYD claims. The bus has completed more than 20 million kilometers of “in revenue service” and has been evaluated in many major cities all over the world.