Electric bus (e-bus) adoption in India is gaining traction as multiple cities have embarked on the journey of electrifying their bus-based public transport systems in the recent years. This traction is aligned with the recent impetus from the Government of India to aggregate e-bus demand under the ambit of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) scheme, Phase – II, through the ongoing Grand Challenge for Deployment of e-Buses.

Guidebook on Rolling Out Electric Buses and Route EValuator

To ensure that the impetus behind transit electrification neither disrupts the quality of the existing bus service nor becomes financially burdensome, it is essential for transit agencies to evaluate the merit for deployment of e-buses on specific routes and develop corresponding implementation plans. To address such needs, WRI India with support from the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI), has developed a comprehensive guidebook — Rolling Out Electric Buses and developed a first-of-its-kind Excel-based tool — Route EValuator, which can help transit agencies in inducting e-buses into their fleets in a calibrated manner.

Better e-Bus Challenge 2022

There are multiple challenges to India’s transition to e-buses, the primary one being a fundamental difference between e-bus systems and their traditional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) counterparts. The Better e-Bus Challenge 2022 is an initiative by WRI India, supported by the TUMI e-bus Mission, that focuses on innovative technology-based solutions to improve the quality and operations of the rapidly expanding public e-bus systems in Indian cities. The objective of this Challenge is to improve planning and scheduling, operations and management and procurement models and financing of e-buses across the country. Through the Challenge, WRI India will work with entrepreneurs, component manufacturers, technology/service providers and transit agencies to develop and co-create solutions specific to the needs of the city.