Eight new brand state of art electric busses were added to the BEST fleet recently which will start running on various routes soon. "We received eight more busses day after yesterday, these buses will be inducted at various routes," said Lokesh Chandra, General Manager on Thursday.
"These 12 meter long Air-Conditioned E buses have electronically controlled air suspension, disc brakes, noise-less, monocoque chassis, and mobile charging sockets with a seating capacity of 39 + Driver. The buses are also equipped with CCTV cameras to ensure the safety of the commuters, an Emergency button and a USB charger for mobiles for each passenger," said an official of BEST adding that these buses are enabled with Passenger Information Systems (PIS) and Public announcement facilities.
The lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery installed in these buses enables them to travel around 240 km on a single charge with traffic and passenger load conditions.
The technologically advanced busses also have a regenerative braking system which allows the bus to recover part of the kinetic energy lost in braking. The high-power DC charging system enables the battery to fully recharge in 2-3 hours.
Currently, BEST runs 3,651 buses on its entire routes, of these 1,440 are air-conditioned. Of 1,440 air-conditioned busses of BEST currently running in the city, 360 are electric. Apart from that 26 more electric busses also running in the city are non-air-conditioned.
Electric buses are highly efficient and have lower operating costs than diesel buses. Fuel savings can be significant when comparing electricity with diesel, and buses also have fewer moving parts and maintenance needs.
Number of the total fleet of BEST - 3651
Total number of air-conditioned buses -1440
Total number of double-decker buses - 45
Total number of electric buses ( EV) having air conditioning facilities - 360
Total number non air-conditioned electric buses ( EV) - 26
Total number of diesel-operated buses - 822
