Come July and BMTC commuters from Shantinagar depot can look forward to travelling in Bangalore’s first battery-powered bus.
With rising fuel costs and increasing pollution, the BMTC is getting into an agreement with a private company, Utopia Automation and Control, for a three-month field trial of the bus, named K-9. If K-9, which costs an estimated `2 crore after a 40 per cent subsidy, can handle Bangalore’s speed breakers and pot-holes, the BMTC will work out the purchase details.
“Our buses, on an average, travel about 220 kms across the city. If the bus cannot meet this requirement, commuters could be stranded and we want to avoid this,” BMTC managing director Anjum Parvez told Express.
Currently operational in China and manufactured by BYD Auto Co Ltd, the K-9 is said to be able to travel up to 250 km after charging the battery for about 3-6 hours. It is air-conditioned and has a seating capacity of 33+1, and can reach speeds of up to 90 km per hour.
“In three months, we hope to get an idea about the quality of the bus, its capability to cope with the traffic and whether the operational cost of the bus is worth the investment,” said Parvez.
With over 5,000 K-9 buses plying in countries such as Australia, the Netherlands and the USA, Vishwas Shetty, director, Utopia Automation and Control, is confident that their buses will pass Bangalore’s test.
“We had to make a couple of changes to the bus to ensure that it was able to operate on Indian roads — for instance the ground clearance had to be increased to comfortably go over speed-breakers. Before the bus is brought to India, it has to be cleared by the Automobile Research Institute of India. This usually takes about two months. But the tests should be cleared by the end of May,” he said.
Shetty said a complete charge of the bus requires about 400kW of electricity. “A readymade kit is available, which will be installed at the Shantinagar depot. It takes about two days,” he said.
Shetty said the buses are cost-efficient, like other battery-powered vehicles. “Operation costs are very low — about Rs 4 per km. For a Volvo A/C bus, this is `18 per km. Apart from charging the bus and changing tyres, there are hardly any other maintenance costs. It does not even require oil,” he points out.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Merlin Francis – Bangalore / March 16th, 2013