Going Green; Electric buses are test driven in Chennai

Chennai Metropolitan Transport Corporation has test-driven a new electric bus manufactured by the commercial vehicle manufacturer, Ashok Leyland on Monday. The test run was from Chennai Central station to Light house and had state transport minister, M R Vijayabaskar and transport Secretary PWC Davidar as its first passengers. They also inspected the bus that was brought to the central depot at Pallavan Salai.

The electric bus uses is battery charged and is engineered with zero emissions. The bus, called Circuit, can run upto 120 kilometers on a single charge and has a minimum seating capacity of 35 passengers. The maximum is 65.

The test drive was at a speed of 80 kmph and the ride is considered smooth and successful. The cost of one bus is somewhere in between Rs 1.50 crore and Rs.3.50 crore, depending on the seating capacity and recharge life. The battery, which is currently imported from US, attributes to 60% of its cost.

The authorities have been testing the electric bus in the hilly regions of north India for the last six months, since its launch in October last year, TOI reported a senior MTC officer as saying.

The move has come as a part of reducing the carbon emission and modernizing the services offered by Transport department.

 

Featured Image Source: BharathAutos