Kochi: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will procure and operate electric buses on a wet-lease basis, paving the way for their deployment in the Thiruvananthapuram-Ernakulam section.
A notification issued by the transport department on February 14 to this effect, however, made it clear that the government would take no financial burden of the e-bus operations.
“The government has examined in detail and given the nod to the KSRTC awarding the contract to M/s Mahavoyage LLP to operate the buses for ten years,” an official said.
The direct purchase was found to be not feasible as each bus will cost nearly '2 crore.
As per the contract, the corporation will pay Mumbai-based contractor Rs 43.20 per km for operating ten air-conditioned buses having a length of nine metres.
The fleet-owner will provide the driver and also meet maintenance costs while the corporation needs to supply electricity to charge them.
“The trial run on the Pamba-Nilakkal route was successful. Soon battery charging facilities will be set up at Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Haripad, Alappuzha and Ernakulam and we aim to start the services by April,” he said.
The buses with 33 seats can run 300 km in a single charging. It takes four hours for standard charging and one-and-half hours for fast charging. Though the top speed is 120 kmph, maximum allowed is 80 kmph.
The government earlier announced in the budget that buses in the state capital will convert to the clean energy in a phased manner as per its electric vehicle policy.
