MSRTC to electrify trips between cities

One of the buses bought in 2019

Major metro cities in the state could soon see electric buses plying between them, with the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) working on orders to procure 100 such buses, and planning their charging points and related infrastructure along the routes, with a pre-bid meeting on April 8. The MSRTC had made an attempt to procure electric buses earlier, but the project did not achieve much success.

With electric mobility being pushed by the union government, the MSRTC is now reworking its strategy to bring in electric buses. Initially, doubts had been raised within the corporation, about whether the electric buses could climb the steep ghats and mountains, however, private buses have been able to negotiate them easily.

"Electric buses can function on any terrain. They need to be of good technology and the fare needs to be compatible," an expert said. The buses will run on inter-city corridor routes like Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Nashik on freeways, Pune-Mahabaleshwar, Nashik-Shirdi with charging facilities to be developed along the routes at Aurangabad, Solapur, Nanded, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Pune and Nashik.

"The MSRTC had made an attempt to bring in electric buses in 2019 under Phase one of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME-1), launched by the Chief Minister's office, but it did not progress. Now, buses are being procured under phase two of FAME," said Rohit Dhende of Bus for Us Foundation.

No money for salaries?

The MSRTC will seek a second round of funding from the government due to continuing losses and money drying out for salaries. "A crucial meeting is scheduled on Wednesday for this," an official said.