Bangalore Becomes First City In India To Launch Full Electric Bus | Pics, Specs, Video

Bangalore becomes the first city in launch a fully electric bus for public transport. State run Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) inaugurated the Chinese built BYD K9 full electric bus.

The 32-seater electric bus service will be operated on a 3-month trial basis and will run six trips on the Majestic to Kadugodi route (335 E) daily. If successful the service will be expanded to a greater extent. India is in deep need of such eco-friendly alternatives to reduce its urban pollution. Recently, the capital New Delhi was in the international news after being rated as the world’s most polluted city by the Environmental Performance Index (EPI).

Incidentally, Delhi tried to introduce the CNG-Electric hybrid Buses in 2010, the move was eventually a failure due to the high costs involved. The BYD K9 Electric bus costs Rs. 2.7 crore each, a conventional A/C Volvo bus costs between Rs. 1.3 crore to Rs. 1.7 crore. Justifying the viability of the expensive electric bus an official from the BMTC said, “A low running cost of Rs 7 per km, as compared to Rs 18 per km for a Volvo A/C bus and easy maintenance are expected to drastically reduce the cost per passenger to BMTC”

About the Electric Bus – BYD K9

The BYD electric bus known as K9 in China, is an all electric bus built by the Chinese company BYD (Build Your Dreams). The bus is powered by Iron-Phosphate Battery which can power the bus to as much as 250Km on a single charge. First launched in 2010 is it used in many parts of the world notably China, North America, South America, Asia, Middle-East and Europe.

Official specifications

·         Electric power consumption: less than 100kWh/60mins

·         Acceleration: 0–50 km/h in 20s

·         Top speed: 96 km/h

·         Normal charge: 6h for full charge

·         Fast charge: 3h for full charge

·          Or overnight charging: 60 kW Max.power to fully charge the bus within 5h

·         Range: 155 miles (249 km) 

·         Length*Width*Height: 12,000mm*2,550mm*3,200mm

·         Standard seats: 31+1 (31 for passengers and 1 for driver)

·         Weight: 18,000 kg

·         Clearance between one-step entry and ground: 360mm