In a first of its kind, Amaravati (de-facto state capital of Andhra Pradesh) will soon start using unmanned electric buses to curb the consistent pollution levels in the city. The new initiative also aims to improve mobility and existing transport system made under Chief Minister N.Chandrababu’s decision to revamp the transport model at nine places in Andhra Pradesh.

The proposal came after Chief Minister held a meeting with Foster and Partners and Hafeez Contractor – the leading architects designing the government complex. After rectifying several complexities involved through various inputs and suggestion, the government came up with a broad plan.

Sustainability

The government is already looking at various methods like provision for electric vehicles, dedicated bicycle and pedestrian routes and use of canals for water taxis.

The British architects Foster and Partners had made a presentation highlighting the need for integrating green and blue spaces, which traced the per share allocation to different urban elements- 51 percent green, 10 percent water, 14 percent road and 25 percent building footprint.

They suggested that government complexes should be open to all, cultural buildings should be integrated within green and blue areas, city squares and urban squares should be inclusive and attractive.

In regard with sustainable energy use, Chris bubb of Foster and Partners said that energy consumption demand should be reduced by 40-60 per cent, as cited on ET.

For water usage, the representatives highlighted that rainwater harvesting and storm water management methods should be introduced.

Unmanned public transport system

China was the first to test the technology back in 2015, by using buses that were able to maneuver successfully without any human assistance and had improved active safety standards. However, there was no mention about the change in pollution levels, as the buses were running on fuel.

Paris had tested e- buses on January 23. The buses have a capacity to carry up to six seated passengers and follow virtual route throughout the city. The technology hasn’t been tested properly yet, but aims at lowering the rampant levels of pollution by adding its bit to the green project.

‘Roadblocks’

The commencement of the pilot program hasn’t been officially stated yet.

But before implementation of the program there are certain roadblocks that must be overcome– traffic and unstructured roads, as international models have an overall different traffic system and sense. In India, unmanned vehicles might have to face other difficulties as well, which might have not been explored yet.

Some days back the central government had sanctioned Rs 4,500 crore in the current fiscal year for Andhra Pradesh’s 14 road project, which aims to restructure the existing bad condition of the roads.

For now, the unmanned e-buses project should start at the earliest and help improve the existing transport infrastructure.