Hyderabad-based electric bus manufacturer Olectra Greentech Limited (Olectra) in a consortium with the Evey Trans Private Limited (EVEY) received a letter of award from the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) for the supply of 100 e-buses under the Government of India’s FAME-II initiative.
As per the details known yet, the company plans on plying 50 e-buses on the Tirumala-Tirupati ghat road and the rest as intercity buses between Tirupati and Nellore, Kadapa and Madanapalle in Chittoor district.
In the regulatory released yesterday, Olectra Greentech said these vehicles will be provided on a gross cost contract / operating expenses model basis for 12 years, a press release said on Monday. It added that the value of the contract is approximately ₹140 crore and the buses would be delivered over 12 months.
During the contract period, the Olectra would look after the maintenance of the buses, which would be deployed at Alipiri (Tirupati) depot.
“With this new order, the total order book of the Olectra reached around 1,450 buses,” its chairman and managing director K.V. Pradeep said.
He said the e-buses would contribute to preserving the ecology of the Seshachalam forests and the Tirumala hills. “These zero-emission and noiseless buses are successfully running in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Surat, Dehradun, Silvassa, Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala,” he added.
“These 09-meter air-conditioned buses have a seating capacity of 35+D. The lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery installed in the bus enables it to travel around 180 km on a single charge, based on traffic and passenger load conditions.
The technologically advanced bus has a regenerative braking system which allows the bus to recover part of the kinetic energy lost in braking. The high-power AC & DC charging system enables the battery to recharge in 3-4 hours fully,” the company said.
Olectra has completed over four crore km on Indian roads and reduced Co2 emissions by around 35,700 tonnes to date. The company has delivered over 400 buses to various States.