The Maharashtra government is undertaking measures to endorse the use of electric vehicles. It is common these days for states to offer incentives for the usage of electric vehicles in order to make them more popular among buyers. Some states have already introduced electric vehicles, while others like Mum bai in Maharashtra are planning to use electric buses for public use. India’s first AC double-decker electric bus is being launched in Mumbai. The bus was seen on the road, its inauguration will take place on August 18. The bus will be available for public use for the month of September itself.
AC double decker buses are now visible on the highway in Mumbai. It was confirmed beforehand that the electric double-decker bus is ready with all the necessary permissions. Currently, the authorities are conducting some final rounds of testing before giving over the bus to the BEST( Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport )satellite officials. As of now, BEST has over 400 single-decker electric buses with it. Besides this, BEST has also ordered 900 electric buses in a phased manner. Half of this will be delivered by March 2023, said Adhikari of BEST.
The testing of electric buses on the roads of Mumbai looks pretty good. The bus is in a red shed and completely air conditioned. The combination of red and black reminds one of the London double decker bus. The buses are produced by Switch Mobility which is a UK subsidiary of Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland. The company boasts that Metrodecker is the lightest bus of its class and has the biggest capability with the longest driving range.
The video shows the bus to be huge and comfortable.
Metrodecker comes with a 250 kW electric motor that draws power from a 300 kWh battery pack. The bus comes with a capacity of 99 passengers and can cover a distance of about 190 miles or 305 km in a single charge. The specifications written here are pertaining to the older version of Metro Decker, the newer version that is to be launched in India might have different specifications. As pollution increases in many parts of Mumbai, government had decided to launch these buses to bring pollution under control
On an average, 2.9 million people use bus transport daily by 63,700 trips on 505 bus routes with the help of 3,800 buses. With the addition of electric double-decker buses to the fleet, the BEST initiative hopes to attract more passengers towards an environmentally-friendly route.
