After Himachal, Mumbai gets electric buses

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, November 10

After Himachal Pradesh it is Mumbai's turn to get electric buses.

The city's Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking on Friday added four electric buses to its fleet. Six of these vehicles manufactured by the Goldstone group in association with China's BYD has been purchased at a cost of Rs 10 crore, according to civic officials.

BEST officials said the buses will only ply in the vicinity of its Backbay Depot located near Nariman Point since electric charging points for the vehicles are only available here at the moment. “The buses will run 200 km on a single charge,” a BEST spokesman said. It would take three hours to fully charge the batteries in an electric bus.

In the first phase, the buses will connect Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Churchgate railway stations.

Civic officials backed the purchase of the electric buses, which at Rs 1.61 crore each cost more than double of an ordinary bus on the grounds that it was an environment-friendly initiative. The fares will remain the same as BEST's normal CNG buses, according to officials.

The Mumbai municipal corporation, which is controlled by the Shiv Sena and the BJP, says more electric buses would be rolled out across the city depending on the success of the six vehicles being introduced in the initial phase.