75 Electric Buses Join Bengaluru's Public Transport, To Reduce 14,500 Tonnes Of Carbon Emission Per Year

In a step towards green mobility in Bengaluru, 75 advanced electric buses were inducted into the IT capital's public transport agency Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).

Ashok Leyland's electric vehicle arm, Switch Mobility, supplied these 75 Switch EiV 12 buses as part of an order to supply and operate 300 of these EVs.

Marking India's 75 years of independence, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai flagged these 75 electric buses at Karnataka's Legislative Assembly.

"Today, we are delighted to begin initial deliveries of our Switch EiV buses to BMTC as part of our 300-strong electric bus order. These buses will play a vital role in reducing carbon footprint in the city of Bengaluru – a reduction of over 14,500 tonnes of CO2 per year equivalent to planting 87,000 trees," Mahesh Babu, CEO, Switch India, told Financial Express.

In November 2021, Switch Mobility secured an order to supply and operate 300 12-metre electric buses for BMTC.

The fleet and charging infrastructure will be supplied, operated and maintained by Switch Mobility for 12 years on a Gross Cost Contract (GCC) Model under the union government's Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric & Hybrid Vehicles FAME-II scheme.

"Available in two variants - EiV 12 low floor and EiV 12 standard, these proficient buses offer the best in reliability, range and comfort," the company said.

"The Switch EiV range of buses have been uniquely configured to meet customer requirements of varied applications like intra-city, inter-city, staff, school and tarmac, offering maximum passenger capacity and comfort," it added.

The buses are equipped with a new generation of highly efficient, modular batteries with advanced lithium-ion NMC chemistry, specially formulated for the Indian market and climatic conditions.

The modular batteries increase the capacity per battery cell for the same weight, enabling a higher range of kilometres – up to 300 km per day with a single charge and up to 500 km per day with dual gun fast charging.