BENGALURU: About half the government-run vehicles in the city will be converted to electric by 2019, said state minister for large and medium scale industries KJ George here on Tuesday.

“The aim is to replace 50% of petrol and diesel vehicles used by the state government staff in Bengaluru to eco-friendly electric vehicles (EV) by 2019,” he said while speaking at the Future Mobility Show 2019, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

He said urban development department is also amending the building bylaws to mandate 10-20% parking space for EV charging points. “The government is contemplating preferential parking for EVs and adequate signage in the city to guide electric vehicle owners to the nearest e-charging slots,” he said.

“Karnataka was one of the first states in India to realise the potential of electric mobility. Today, the state has emerged as a front runner in the sector, determined to play a vital role in driving EV penetration”.

BHEL unveils e-bus

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), a government undertaking has unveiled a prototype of an air-conditioned electric bus. The electric bus, which unveiled at the Future Mobility Show, will have a seating capacity of 43. Once it is fully charged, it will run up to 150km. The maximum speed of the BHEL’s e-bus is 75kmph. It will also have facilities like Wi-Fi, CCTV cameras, LED display board and GPS.

S Balakrishnan, director, Industrial Systems and Products, BHEL, said they had supplied 300 battery powered vehicles between 1987 and 2004.

“In fact, our battery-run mini-electric vans are running at Taj Mahal area in Agra but this is first time we are coming with an electric bus, which was manufactured at Trichy plant”. He said they are in talks with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to deploy e-buses in some of roads under gross cost contract model on a pilot buses. “There are challenges but we are confident to come up with a more models. We are also eagerly waiting to work with state-run bus corporations”.

The BHEL’s entry to e-bus sector will be a boost to electric mobility which is mostly dominated by the Chinese companies.

