Infrastructure in Delhi not ready for emobility: Experts
FALLING SHORT Public transport specialists say an electric bus network would be more viable after at least 45 years
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government’s grand plans to add 1,000 electric buses to its fleet may not work out for the city as well as the government hopes as the national Capital appears to still not have the requisite infrastructure to manage it, experts said.
Speaking at ‘Connect Karo’, a conclave on sustainable cities organised by the World Resources Institute (WRI), experts said that a city like Delhi will have to get the basic infrastructure in place before it can induct a robust e-vehicle fleet in its public transport system.
Urban transport specialist Prashanth Bachum, who was among the panellists speaking on supporting infrastructure for electric buses, said that an electric bus network would be more viable after four or five years when the basic loopholes in the city’s infrastructure and public transport system are fixed.
“For example, when the bus fleet was moved to CNG the operative cost went up. It also led to a reduction of mileage. Back then, we were still better prepared for the change in the fleet, but for e-buses, the country as a whole appears to be unprepared,” Bachu, a researcher with Hyderabad-based transport infrastructure research organisation Gear Change, said.
Bachu pointed out that the task of bringing and maintaining electric mobility will be especially difficult in Delhi because there are no ‘bus priority’ lanes.
“In Ahmedabad, where they have around 95 km of dedicated bus corridors, plying of electric buses would still be easier because electric lines can be laid for pantograph charging,”
For example, when the bus fleet was moved to CNG, the operative cost went up. It also led to a reduction of mileage... The country as a whole appears to be unprepared.
PRASHANTH BACHUM, urban transport specialist
Bachu said.
Sharing the experience of running 25 e-buses, the chief general manager of the Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (HPRTC) Hemender Gupta said the cost of changing the infrastructure and the cost of laying cabling lines through the routes has proven to be expensive.
“We have over 2,000 regular buses plying in the city. Running these 25 e-buses is more expensive than operating the 2,000 regular ones,” Gupta said.
He also said that it took two years for the HPRTC to finally get a tender for these 25 buses. These buses would have been welcome if the model of the vehicles and the infrastructure had been standardised by the government.
Mike Weston, advisor to the C-40 Cities Finance Facility, said that buying the buses is the easiest part of the process. “The difficult part is to figure out charging facilities, route planning, and training of drivers in eco-friendly driving technology,” he said.