Operators Showcase Resilience Of E-Buses For Long-Distance Travel

In a bid to accelerate country’s green mobility shift, electric bus operators are burning the rubber to showcase the reliability of battery-powered buses for long distance inter-state travel across different terrains.

Green Cell Mobility, a shared electric mobility player, under its e-bus brand Nuego, recently launched an expedition from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, covering a total distance of around 4,000km. The e-bus journey, which started from Jammu on October 4^th, will reach Kanyakumari on October 18^th. There are several e-bus operators connecting popular tourist destinations, within eight to 10 hours of travel time.

The government too is encouraging a shift toward green mobility through schemes like FAME-I and FAME-II. Plan is to progressive induct reliable, affordable, efficient electric vehicles into country’s public and private bus transportation fleet.

Road transportation in India is predominantly powered by fossil fuels, with the sector being a major contributor to Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions. According to report by the think tank, Council of Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), in 2023, the sector accounted for 12 percent of India's energy-related CO2 emissions.

Studies indicate that an increase in number of private vehicles on the roads could possibly double CO2 emissions from the road transport sector by the year 2050. Electric vehicles with zero tailpipe emissions help to move towards India’s net-zero targets by 2070.

According to Devendra Chawla, MD and CEO, GreenCell Mobility, the expedition will demonstrate the resilience of electric buses across diverse terrains in India.

Enroute Infrastructure Issues

However, question marks remain over whether the country has adequate charging infrastructure for long-distance bus travel.

Addressing this concern, Chawla points out that Green Cell Mobility on their own have 280 fast chargers, among which 105 are allocated for Nuego. These chargers are mostly captive infrastructure. Currently, the capacity utilisation of these chargers is around 40%. This offers the company room for further expanding their service across more routes. Green Cell plans to put an additional 1,200 e-buses on road, both for intra and inter-city travel.

Government’s Role

Interestingly, in the Kashmir-Kanyakumari bus route, 90% of the charging stations come under government infrastructure.

A CEEW report points out that for e-buses to offer long-distance services, parking and charging facilities need to be combined to cut down the charging time and layover. Most of e-bus operators are small fleet owners, and it is not feasible for them to invest in even slow-charging infrastructure. Bus operators need fast charging stations enroute to their destination.

Charging facilities are expensive and require additional land, making government’s role critical in expanding their services. Bus operators seek a clear roadmap from the government on the availability of fast public bus charging infrastructure and the cost of energy drawn from such infrastructure.

Studies indicate that at charging cost of INR 9 per kWh, e-buses are cheaper to operate, than their diesel counterparts, on 85% of the routes. However, this count drops to 60% at a charging cost of INR 11 per kWh. This indicates that charging rates must be capped for the end-user to help enhance the transition to e-buses.