Ahmedabad BRTS to include E-buses in its fleet

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AHMEDABAD: At the Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show, an electric midi bus by Ashok Leyland with a capacity of 50 passengers will be displayed. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, will be inaugurating the show on January 17, 2019. Ahmedabad BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System) officials said that five such buses will soon ply on the city roads in the next few weeks. The buses from Ashok Leyland are expected to begin trials in the city in the next few weeks, officials said.

Karthick Athamanathan, head EV & eMobility Solutions of Ashok Leyland said, “The exact bus that will be running on your roads in the coming weeks will be on display. We have stationed a second bus outside the venue and if requisite permission are given then we would like to operate it as well.”

The first route identified for these electric buses to ply on will be the RTO circular route of the BRTS covering a distance of 31 km.

Ashok Leyland is renting out 50 electric buses to Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL). This will be a 100 per cent subsidiary of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and the corporation will pay Ashok Leyland for every kilometer.

Athmanathan added, “We have to run these buses for a minimum of seven years.” Charging facilities for the buses have been developed at Naranpura and Ranip depots.