RTC's electric buses soon to hit the roads

Hyderabad: The RTC’s electric buses are all set to hit the roads in a couple of days, after issues regarding charging stations and routes were cleared.

The AC electric buses would be on par  with Metro luxury buses, with fares between Rs 55 and Rs 280.

The first set of 40 buses, powered by lithium-ion batteries, have completed their trial runs. Each bus can run 250 km after a full charge that takes four to five hours. The buses would be charged at stations set up using high tension electric lines in the depots.

As many as twenty buses have been alloted to the Miyapur depot and 20 to the Cantonment depot. Most of these buses would be running on the airport route.

Each bus can seat 40 passengers and have modern passenger amenities as well as fire and safety measures. They are protected against short circuits, heating up and lightning.

The purchase of the buses was subsidised by the department of heavy industries, under Faster Adoption and Manufacture of Electric Vehicles (FAME), a Central government initiative to reduce vehicular pollution as well as the country’s dependence on motor fuels.