The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will run AC electric buses on intercity routes for the first time. The corporation will operate 50 such AC buses under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme of the Union government. The inter-city AC buses will be operated from Bengaluru to Mysuru, Madikeri, Virajpet, Chikkamagaluru, Davangere and Shivamogga.
The buses will be operated by a private operator under a gross cost contract (GCC) for a period of 10 years. The private operator will be paid Rs 55 per kilometer in operational costs by the KSRTC. According to The Hindu, a Hyderabad-based electric bus manufacturer has been chosen to run buses. A bus prototype is anticipated to arrive by the end of December, after which a staged introduction will take place.
In order to make it easier to operate the buses, charging infrastructure will be installed at a number of locations, including Majestic and depots in the cities where these buses will operate. As per The Hindu, the electric buses can travel up to 250 kilometres on a single charge. The guaranteed daily operating distance is 450 kilometres. The company has identified popular routes that are within 250 kilometres for use by the e-buses.
Meanwhile, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has begun using e-buses in a gradual manner. As many as 90 e-buses are currently operating as part of the Smart City programme, while 300 additional buses are being run under FAME-2 in phases.