Eco-friendly wheels: Delhi's green push with EVs in public transport

A ride in a newly launched electric bus gives a sense of how one of the world's most polluted cities is trying to clean up its act

Mohammad Sajid has been driving city buses in New Delhi for nearly seven years. During summers, the sweltering heat coupled with the discomfort of driving a non-air-conditioned bus and dealing with the odd unruly passenger can be quite trying, he says.

Today, however, he is calm and relaxed at the steering wheel of one of 150 electric buses flagged off by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The new fleet was added to Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) on May 24, after the first of two e-buses were introduced in the city in January.

Until May 26, the new buses ran on trial and gave free rides to commuters, although the ve­hicles mainly shuttled between depots as fixed routes were not yet assigned. When Business Standard took a ride in the afternoon, Sajid, along with a condu­c­tor and a bus marshal, was on the way to the Indraprastha de­pot in central Delhi. A bus without a route number apparently isn’t the first choice for co­m­m­uters to hop on, so it ran empty.

Photo: Ritwik Sharma

The new light-blue bus is structurally similar to the other low-floor AC buses that have been running on compressed natural gas (CNG) in the city. It includes features such as emergency safe stop buttons, CCTV cameras and real-time passenger information system connected to GPS, with pink seats for women and kneeling ramps for the differently abled. In the absence of an engine, the motor-driven bus boasts noiselessness. Inside, the only constant sound is that of fans.

The trial has been smooth, and the bus is well-equipped with safety mechanisms including fire extinguisher, says Sajid while agreeing that the e-bus would help curb pollution.

The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi has described the addition of e-buses a milestone in the capital’s uphill battle against air pollution, which veh­i­cular emissions cont­ribute heavily to. Ac­c­ord­ing to the 2021 Wor­ld Air Quality Re­p­o­rt by Swiss or­­g­­anisation IQAir, De­­l­hi is the most po­­lluted capital and the fourth most pol­l­uted city in the world.

While the new fleet has rai­sed the number of buses to over 7,200, according to estimates, the city requires at least 11,000 buses to serve its population.

As the state government sets a target of 2,000 new e-buses by 2023, the addition of EV (electric vehicle) in public transport is being viewed as beneficial for all stakeholders.

An ECO-LIFE electric bus, says JBM Auto, the Gurugram based manufacturer, would save an equivalent of around 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over 10 years of operation.

JBM Auto has been operating e-buses in India over the last two years, starting with Navi Mumbai and followed by other cities such as Ah­m­edabad, Beng­a­luru and Jhansi, and also in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Photo: Ritwik Sharma

The DTC sought e-buses capable of co­v­ering 120-140 km on one charge, so the vehicles have been customised accordingly. JBM has also installed chargers, which can fully charge a bus in a maximum of two hours. On May 24, three charging de­pots were also inaugurated in Delhi.

Asked about safety concerns in the context of EVs catching fire in India, an official of JBM Auto pointed out that the incidents involved two-wheelers and assured that such threats were minimal in its e-buses. The e-buses have safety features such as battery management, and fire detection and suppression systems, with data monitored through a central server.

India’s first electric bus was flagged off in Bengaluru in Feb­ruary 2014. While their adoption has been slow since, e-buses, like other EVs, are picking up.

Specifically since the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a paradigm shift to green alternatives and adoption of cleaner technology, says Puneet Gupta, director-automotive forecasting, S&P Global. Moreover, he adds, EV adoption is being aided by incentives to buyers in India and across the globe.

Delhi has an aggressive plan to embrace EVs. In its EV policy, for instance, the Delhi government has aimed to achieve a ratio of one EV for every four vehicles sold in Delhi by 2024.

Jyoti Gulia, founder, JKM Re­search, a Gurugram-based consulting firm, says the shift of government-owned vehicles towards electric mobility also makes economic sense due to lower ownership cost given that CNG price, too, has been rising.

She adds that intra-city travel wouldn’t be a challenge for e-buses as charging infrastructure is being bolstered in the capital. “Charging stations can be deployed for e-buses at depots, unlike for CNG buses that have to go to fuel pumps for refill.”

For Indian metros and big cities, many of which are among the world’s most polluted, EV in public transport and an overall shift to cleaner and greener mobility is vital. Gupta points out that the penetration of cars is only aro­und 30 per thousand in India, which is also reliant on imported oil. “The masses will continue to depend on public transport, and e-buses can also help reduce our dependence on fuel. So it is a win-win proposition for everybody.”