Hyderabad: The RTC is all set to introduce 40 electrical buses for the first time in the city. The buses will be in operation from the beginning of September, according to RTA authorities. The corporation is hiring these electrical buses from a private company to run from various places in the city to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), as a part of phase 1 project.
Two electric charging stations will be available, one at cantonment and another at Miyapur depots. Four standby points will also be available at the airport. About 20 of these pollution-free buses will be running from Jubilee Bus Station to the airport.
About 10 via LB Nagar and another 10 via Secretariat. About 10 of these 12-meter buses will be running from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) to the airport, and another 10 buses will be running from Lingampally to the airport. These buses will be in addition to Pushpak buses that shuttle between the airport and many places in the city.
The corporation wanted to buy new electric buses, which cost about two-and-a-half crores, for the purpose. However, due to lack of sufficient funds, it hired new buses from Goldstone Infrastructure. The RTC is also planning to add some internal mini-electric buses on the congested roads in the city in the next phase, an RTC official said.
The electricity department is providing 11 KVP connection wires to the charging stations. The buses can go up to 200 kms with a one-time charging. Also, the electrical buses can be more efficient as city buses, as they recharge their batteries, whenever brakes are applied. However, the charging of the buses should be a long process and needed to be conducted carefully.
The RTC has been facing complaints of running some diesel buses in the city that are old and release a lot of smoke. However, the electrical buses are pollution free and make less sound.
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