SOURCE : TIMES OF INDIA
The government is planning to incentivize the adoption of electric buses for intercity and interstate travel to promote green mobility and reduce emissions. Plans include installing charging infrastructure along highways and supporting state governments in purchasing electric buses.
on Indian highways! The government is set to introduce electric buses on long-distance routes as part of its efforts to speed up the country’s transition to green mobility. The latest initiative is aimed at interstate passenger transport. An estimated 1.25-1.45 million buses, including around 250,000 state government-controlled transport utilities, operate on intercity or interstate routes.
Currently running on diesel, a shift to electric buses will significantly contribute to reducing emissions.
A senior government official told ET’s Twesh Mishra, “Viability of electric buses over long routes has been established for up to eight-nine hours of continuous travel,” and added that incentives are being considered to encourage the adoption of such buses.
While electric buses supported under the FAME India subsidy FAME India subsidy scheme are currently used for city transport, the government may launch a similar support scheme or extend the existing one for interstate transport infrastructure.
To further support the electric mobility push, more charging infrastructure will be established along highways, including fast chargers on key routes connecting large urban centres.
The official explained, “Unlike four-wheelers (such as cars), larger and heavier batteries can be installed in electric buses to facilitate long-distance transport (as they last longer between charging). There will also be scaling up of fast-charging infrastructure along key routes to address range-anxiety concerns.”
The government will soon develop a road map for supporting the purchase of electric buses by state governments for long-distance operations. Additionally, measures to encourage private bus fleet operators and institutional buyers like schools and colleges to switch to electric mobility are being considered.The official said, “School buses run for hardly four hours in a day over controlled distances within cities. They should also be encouraged to switch to electric. Sops are being considered for encouraging more private players to adopt e-buses.”
The official said, “School buses run for hardly four hours in a day over controlled distances within cities. They should also be encouraged to switch to electric. Sops are being considered for encouraging more private players to adopt e-buses.”
SOURCE : TIMES OF INDIA
