Karnataka's first ever rollout of electric buses for public transportation

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday flagged off the state's first ever rollout of electric buses for public transportation.

JBM Auto Ltd., will supply 90 electric buses to Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) for its first electric bus project.

"The JBM ECO-LIFE electric buses will be running under the metro feeder services in the Smart City initiative. Earlier this year, JBM Auto had received an order of 90 non-AC electric buses for the city of Bengaluru," JBM said in a release.

Stating that 25 buses have been flagged off today out of the first batch of 40 electric buses delivered by the company to BMTC, it said the remaining 50 e-buses will be delivered in the coming months.

"This e-bus service marks the first ever rollout of electric buses in the state of Karnataka. These buses shall be operated from the Kengeri, Yeshwantpur and KR Puram bus depots," it added.

Noting that the non-AC buses have a seating capacity of 33 passengers and a driver, JBM said these buses are equipped with six Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC) battery packs that make the buses compatible to cover a distance of 120 kms on a single charge with a maximum speed of 70 kmph.

These buses incorporate all modern features like Real Time Passenger Information System (PIS), Panic Buttons for emergency, Automatic Bus Vehicle Location System, CCTV cameras, Public address system, Stop request buttons to name a few, it said.

JBM's ECO-LIFE electric buses have been running successfully for the last two years in Navi Mumbai under Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport Corporation (NNMT). A total of 30 ECO-LIFE buses are a part of the NNMT.

Earlier this year, JBM supplied 90 and 15 electric buses in Ahmedabad and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands respectively.