Hyderabad to get more electric buses

Hyderabad: The services of most electric buses in the city are limited to routes leading to the airport, which has been raising concerns among commuters, compelling them to ask, when the buses would operate properly in the city.

Pollution levels too are rising day by day. In the city alone, as many as 1,000 Road Transport Corporation (RTC) buses are running beyond their lifetime in the corporation, as a result, they have become a major cause for air pollution. With the vehicles getting older, the fuel efficiency decreases and large amounts of smoke is emitted, thus increasing pollution.

Mr. T. Sumith, a Begumpet resident said, “It’s a common sight to see these RTC buses running and turning people behind them black. They make our commute horrible with all the smoke. It would be great, if electric buses are in place in the city too, which do not emit such a lot of smoke.”

Commuters have been demanding the introduction of electric buses through social media platforms as well. One tweet said, “All these electric buses that are going to the airport run empty at Miyapur, BHEL, Lin-gampally and Secretariat etc. Why can't TSRTC use mini buses for ferrying commuters to the airport and use new buses on busy routes where people are forced to travel hanging on foot boards during rush hour?”

Electric vehicles being noiseless and smokeless are more desirable, apart from their energy conservation. According to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance report, for every 1,000 EV buses, the global demand for fuel drops by about 500 barrels a day; however, the city has only 40 electric buses as of now.

RTC officials said that the phase II of electric buses was moving forward, and as of now was waiting for the Centre’s approval. “If approved, within a couple of years, they would start plying on the roads of Hyderabad and this time they would run in the city and not for airport commuters alone.”