THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Soon after the state cabinet gave approval for
electric vehicle policy,
KSRTC has invited tenders for air-conditioned electric buses on wet lease. The tenders have been invited from vehicle manufacturers and operators.
Tenders for hiring 10 single axle electric buses on wet lease were issued on Friday.
As stated in the tender agreement, the company has to provide trained drivers, while KSRTC will provide electric power, arrange the permit and necessary stationary, manage the schedules and deploy
bus conductors for operating the service.
A 15-day trial run on the viability of the service was conducted in
Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and
Kozhikode cities in June, which proved feasible for KSRTC.
The bus was launched under the label ‘zero emission’, as an initiative of the state government to control pollution.
The nine-metre-long low-floor bus has a seating capacity for 32 people. The bus can be operated upto 200km in a single charge and has a maximum speed of 120 kmph. These vehicles will be installed with speed limiting device as per the
Kerala Motor Vehicle rules.
The charging time is demanded as less than three hours, with kneeling mechanism and electrical regeneration.
The power consumption of the buses is proposed to be less than 1.2 kWh per km. LED destination boards, mobile charging points, Wi-Fi and global positioning systems are other facilities included in the bus.
“It is planned to introduce the electric bus service on Pamba-Nilakkal route for
Sabarimala pilgrims. Considering the route, instead of 12-metre-long buses, we have demanded for nine-metre-long bus,” said KSRTC CMD Tomin J Thachankary.
Meanwhile, the plans to get subsidy for poaching electric bus through faster adoption and manufacturing electric vehicles, India (FAME), a scheme of the Union government, is yet to be finalized.
A 15-day trial run on the viability of the service was conducted in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode cities in June
