For the tender issued under the National Electric Bus Programme (NEBP), Convergence Energy Services (CESL) has discovered that the lowest cost to operate a 12 m intra-city bus is INR 54.3/km, while that for a 12 m inter-city bus, it is INR 39.8/km. For a 9 m bus, price discovered is INR 54.46/km and for a 7 m bus, it is INR 61.92/km.
The prices do not include subsidy and are 29% lower than what it costs to operate diesel buses, CESL said. This was the largest e-bus tender under Phase-I of NEBP comprising 6,456 buses from six Indian states & UTs – Delhi, Telangana, Haryana, Surat (Gujarat), Kerala & Arunachal Pradesh – with the value of the tender being over INR 30,800 crore.
CESL stated that the prices realised set a benchmark for public transport, the price point for which may encourage even the smaller cities to adopt electric vehicles. This price discovery represents electric mobility as a “service”, a relatively new and emerging business model that makes it affordable for State Transport Undertakings (STUs) to adopt electric buses.
The buses are expected to operate around 5,718 million km over 12 years, saving 1,842 million litres of fossil fuel. This will result in 4.62 million tonnes of CO2e from tailpipe emissions, a major step towards mitigating climate change, a press release from CESL said.
Under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model, the private operator brings the bus and operates it for a period of 10-12 years against pre-determined conditions as set out in the tender. STUs on their part pay a fee for the bus service.
Mahua Acharya, MD & CEO, CESL said such tenders are a commitment of the country in achieving the goals set by the Prime Minister to mitigate climate change and better the quality of life of our citizens.
The tender is a part of the Central Government’s vision to deploy 50,000 electric buses on the roads in the next few years under the NEBP, while strengthening, modernising and greening public transport in India, she added.
The NEBP is envisioned to aggregate demand, support STUs to integrate electric buses into their operations, and work with states and DISCOMs alike to support the creation of charging infrastructure at their depots.
Photo is representational; courtesy: Switch Mobility.
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