First service will ply on ghat road between Tirupati and Tirumala

A week after Himachal Pradesh flagged off India’s first commercial electric bus (e-bus) service on the Kullu-Manali-Rohtang pass, the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has set in motion plans to replicate similar e-bus services in the State, starting with the ghat road connecting Tirupati and Tirumala.

While Himachal Pradesh started off with 25 e-buses, APSRTC plans to start operations with 50. The buses are manufactured by the Hyderabad-based Goldstone Infratech Limited.

Speaking to The Hindu, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, APSRTC, M. Malakondaiah said, “We plan to run 50 mini e-buses on the Tirumala ghat road. These buses have been tested at Rohtang and are suitable for the Tirumala route. We have written to the Centre and are awaiting a response.”

Given that over 15,000 vehicles ply on the Tirumala ghat road every day, the introduction of e-buses is expected to reduce pollution. The State government, however, is concerned about the Centre’s subsidy for this project, which is understood to be underwhelming. A senior transport official said, while an e-bus cost about ₹3 crore, the Central subsidy would only be around ₹85 lakh per bus.

Andhra Pradesh would thus have to bear the cost of this enormous gap if it goes ahead with the transition to e-vehicles. On the brighter side, e-buses are less costly to run and earn 82% more in terms of operational profit compared to the diesel ones, said a study by the Indian Institute of Science. A diesel bus costs about ₹85 lakh.

“The present subsidy is insufficient. We are also awaiting the fine print on the Centre’s policy on e-buses, which is expected in a couple of months. In the meantime, we are also looking at more affordable models,” Mr. Malakondaiah said.

Cities such as Bengaluru, Rajkot, Chandigarh and Hyderabad have carried out trials with e-buses.

Mumbai has placed an order for six e-buses.