Kadamba Transport Corporation to ply the e-buses under FAME II scheme
In a first of its kind move, Goans will be now able to travel in zero emission and noiseless electric buses deployed by Olectra Greentech Limited, a leading player among electric bus manufacturers in India. The first batch of these buses under the ‘Make in India’ campaign was flagged off by Chief Minister of Goa Dr. Pramod Sawant. The buses will be run on a gross cost contract model being executed under the central government’s FAME II scheme. The operator will supply the electric buses, develop the charging stations at five depots, maintain the buses and operate them on the routes of Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC).
The revenue collection will be done by KTC that will in turn pay the operator on per km basis. The initial contract is for 10 years and may be further extended by two years. With the buses slated to run an average of around 225-300 km every day, a single charge would suffice for most routes given the vehicles have a range of around 250 km per charge. The time taken for full charging is around 4-5 hours. As far as the charging infrastructure is concerned, a total of five charging stations will be set up – two main charging stations at Margao and Panaji and three opportunity charging stations at Honda, Pernem and Canacona.
The operator will develop all these charging stations with KTC providing the power supply. Olectra Greentech is India’s first electric bus manufacturer for operating and deploying electric buses for public transport in the country and commands the highest market share in this segment. It has already deployed 320 + electric buses for various STUs in India. Further, Olectra Greentech has orders for the deployment of 1,225 electric buses in India. Its electric buses have covered more than 4 crore km on Indian roads and have reduced CO2 emissions of around 37,000 tonnes and saved burning of 13.5 million litres of diesel as of now.
These 12-metre long, air-conditioned electric buses are of monocoque chassis and have a seating capacity of 48 people and driver with electronically controlled air suspension at the front and rear and disc brakes with ABS at the front and back to ensure a comfortable and safe ride for the passengers. These buses are equipped with CCTV cameras to ensure the commuters’ safety, emergency button, USB sockets for mobile charging, GPS tracking, etc. The lithium-ion battery installed in the bus enables it to travel up to 200-250 km on a single charge based on traffic conditions. The technologically advanced electric bus has a regenerative braking system that allows the bus to recover a significant part of the kinetic energy lost in braking.
While announcing the deployment of the buses, K V Pradeep, Group Director, MEIL (Olectra Greentech), said: “Olectra Greentech is proud and thankful to Kadamba Transport Corporation for giving the opportunity to operate its world-class electric buses in Goa. Our buses would now contribute to preserving the rich ecology of Goa. We are committed to efforts to reduce pollution levels through an efficient electric public transport system. We are sure that, like other states, our 50 electric buses will be successful in the state of Goa. Our electric bus has already proved its reliability and efficiency with its successful deployment in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Surat, Silvassa, Dehradun and Kerala.”