RTC to run e-bus in Tirumala; if feasible, in Amaravati too
Tirupati: In a bid to curb pollution and protect environment on the sacred Tirumala Hills, APSRTC has been mulling to operate electric buses in Tirupati-Tirumala route. For now, one bus made by Goldstone company has reached Tirupati a few days ago and drivers being trained to operate the bus presently.
It was planned to make a trial run to Tirumala on Saturday with company representatives, RTC and TTD officials. After the trial runs, a report will be sent to RTC headquarters to take a final decision on pressing the buses into use. The AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB) in one of its reports found that the pollution level has been increasing in Tirumala due to increase in number of vehicles visiting pilgrim city.
If these eco-friendly buses are found to be feasible in terms of energy efficiency and all other aspects, APSRTC may go for introducing such buses on other routes too including Amaravati. APSRTC, Tirupati Regional Manager T Chengal Reddy told The Hans India that RTC management will take a decision on the implementation of these buses taking into consideration the safety and sustainability after the trial run. It will help reduce the pollution on the ghat road and it will be more comfort, he observed.
This bus has many features such as taking complete care to the environment and there will be no harmful emissions. It is safer with battery management system technology and reliable with longer battery life time. This electric bus has been equipped with efficient disc braking system powered by ABS and power assisted steering system.
The driver’s cabin combines human touch integrated dashboard with the most advance technology and driver can be able to know if there is any difficulty through that. It will have a seating capacity for 36 people and RTC officials said the company will change the seating model to accommodate more depending on the needs on the Ghat road.
It will have LED lighting, public address system to facilitate the passengers know the stops in advance. Chengal Reddy has said that the bus will have a length of 9 meters and will cost around Rs 2 crore. On a single charge, the bus can run up to 250 kilometres and will have fast charging technology which takes 2-3 hours for full charge.
It has short circuit and lightning protection too. It was learnt that these zero emission electric buses were already tried and demonstrated successfully by various state transport departments in the country. One such bus was operated on Manali-Rohtang pass route which is world’s highest altitude. A separate charging point was provided for the electric bus at RTC-1 depot garage here. The bus has got the formal approval of RTA, Tirupati and RTC officials secured necessary permissions from TTD authorities too.
By V Pradeep Kumar