Starting
June 1, 2022, GreenCell Mobility,offering electric mobility as service
platform, would run the first intercitye-bus for Maharashtra Regional State
Transport (MSRTC) from the city.
Marking
the commemoration day of MSRTC’s foundation, the bus would be running on the
Pune- Ahmednagar route. These electric buses, dubbed ‘Shivai’ will be
introduced across the state in stages.
GreenCell
Mobility would be deploying 50 such electric buses for intercity travel across
Maharashtra for MSRTC in the cities of Pune, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Nasik and
Solapur soon. Ashok Agarwal, MD&CEO, GreenCell Mobility, on the occasion
said,” With these e-bus the aim is to promote green and sustainable public
transport in the state. We are very happy to partner MSRTC in this effort and
look forward to providing passengers with a comfortable, safer, and greener way
of travel.”
GreenCell
Mobility will create ‘green routes’ with 12-metre buses in the state; over time
10 buses will ply between Pune and Aurangabad as an extension of the Pune-
Ahmednagar route; while 12 buses will run on the Pune – Kolhapur route; 18
buses will operate between Pune – Nasik and 10 buses between Pune- Solapur.
These
buses will be able to run 250 km in single charge and will be fitted with
Li-ion battery with fast charging capability (90-120 minutes). These will be
Standard Luxury coaches’ suitable for local transport and will have an
air-conditioned cabin. A total of 3,743 tons of CO2 zero tailpipe emissions
would be avoided over lifetime of these buses.
Electric
bus adoption has gained traction in India and multiple cities with state
governments having embarked on the journey of electrifying their bus-based
transport system. This has been further accelerated by the Government of
India’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME)
Phase – II scheme.