E-buses set to hit Kolkata streets next month

KOLKATA: Kolkata is all set to have 80 electric buses to curb its air and noise pollution. These electric buses are zero pollution vehicles and are completely noiseless and will hit the city in planned phases. According to West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC), if they will get positive results from the initiative they will gradually add more buses in the city under WBTC.

A transport department official said, “These environment-friendly buses are symbols of future mobility. They do not require conductors to collect fares. The state is deciding on a uniform rate to simplify the automatic fare collection system. We want to see the versatility of these buses in long run. The days are not far when our entire fleet will have such environment-friendly buses. E-buses could provide the state an opportunity to replace the diesel fleet that draws a lot of flak from the National Green Tribunal.”

Almost half of the 20 lakh vehicles that ply in the city run on diesel. Of this, around 2 lakh are commercial vehicles.

The government will install 30 battery chargers at various terminals and turbochargers will also be installed for emergency charging. The government is also planning to install rooftop solar panels so that battery can be charged while moving. Despite having a high cost of these buses, the running and maintenance cost is considerably low.