India’s first and most awaited electric bus has now been launched by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation. This bus, BYD K9, will be available in the city for a trial period of 3 months. At first, BYD K9 will ply on Route No 335E, i.e. between Majestic and Kadugodi. However, it will later ply between Majestic and ITPL or Kempegowda Airport. The bus fare will remain the same as that of Volvo busses with a minimum fare of Rs. 10.
India’s first electric bus launched in Bangalore
It is being expected that the BYD K9 bus will make 6 trips a day within the time period of 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. The bus will be charged for 6 hours at Kempegowda bus station, depot No. 7. When fully charged, the bus will run for 250 km. The total cost of this electric bus is 2.7 crore whereas a Volvo costs Rs. 90 lakh. But unlike Volvo that works at an average cost of Rs. 18 per km, the BYD K9 electric bus is more feasible as it works at an average cost of Rs. 7 per km. The bus offers a very smooth ride and does not make any sound while working. It has been made disabled-friendly as the bus offers the provision for carrying wheelchair inside.
BYD K9 electric bus was flagged off by Ramalinga Reddy, Transport Minister. The bus caught the attention of a lot of people. Many on-lookers were taking pictures as well. The Managing Director of Utopia Automation Control, Prasanna Deshmukh, stated at the launch that at present nearly 5 thousand similar electric busses are operating in many European countries as well as US. With the levels of pollution rising and environmental conservation becoming a global concern, buses running on CNG and electricity are perhaps the future of public transport.
Check out more pictures, after a jump.
Also see – India’s first Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus developed by Tata Motors & ISRO
Volvo 7700 Diesel-Electric Hybrid Bus to run on Bangalore roads soon
Image Credit – VJ Kumar (on Google+)
