Tata Motors has announced that it will supply 80 e-buses to the West Bengal Transport Corporation. These 80 e-buses are part of the company’s larger agenda to deliver 255 electric buses in 6 cities across India.
The order includes 40 units of 9-metre Ultra Electric AC E-buses and 40 units of 12-metre e-buses, out of which 20 units of the 9-metre e-buses have already been delivered. The remaining 20 9-metre electric buses will be delivered by March 31, while the 12-metre e-buses will be delivered in a phased manner said the company in a statement.
The first lot was flagged off by Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, and their inaugural journey from Nabanna, Howrah.
Recently the company announced supplying 40 electric buses to the Lucknow City Transport Service. The remaining cities were Tata Motors will supply its electric buses include – Indore, Jammu, Assam and Jaipur.
The Ultra Electric buses are being manufactured at the company’s Dharwad plant. Tata Motors has installed charging stations at Nonapukur, Kasba, Newtown and Belghoria. Furthermore, intermediate charging terminals powered with fast charging are mounted at Howrah and Santragachi. The Li-ion batteries have been placed on the rooftop to prevent breakdown due to waterlogging. The batteries are liquid cooled to maintain the temperature within an optimum range and ensure longer life along with better performance in tropical conditions.
Built on existing platforms of Starbus and Ultra the Ultra Electric buses are powered by an Integrated Electric Motor Generator and are air-conditioned, have modern interiors and comfortable seats for 31 passengers.
The buses come with air suspension for both front and rear axles to make travel more comfortable for the commuters. Integrated electric motor generator with a peak power of 328 bhp can deliver 194 bhp continuously ensuring effortless driving in congested roads and frequent start stops needing no shifting of gears. The electric motor is powered by a Li-Ion battery that offers a range of up to 150 km on a single charge.
“With growing environmental concerns, electric bus is definitely a symbol of future mobility. Tata Motors has always been at the forefront of the E-mobility evolution and this order is a testament of our best-in-class solution tailored for the bus segment in India.” He further added, “Our in-depth understanding of sustainable public transport for different markets and customers is what differentiates us from our competitors. We are determined to develop alternate fuel technologies and create more energy efficient vehicles thereby supporting the government’s efforts towards promoting electric vehicles in the country,” said Rohit Srivastava, Product Line Head – Passenger Commercial Vehicles, Tata Motors.
Dr A K Jindal, Head Engineering (Electric and Defence), CVBU, Tata Motors, said “The Ultra Electric bus is a new modular platform, which has been developed in a very short lead-time of less than a year, leveraging the knowledge and experience we have gained and demonstrating our commitment to the Government of India’s National Electric Mobility Mission Plan. The architecture of the platform has been conceived and developed by in-house engineering team of Tata Motors, meeting the requirement of various tenders floated by different state transport undertakings,” he added “The exterior has been designed with new brand identity that includes stylized ultra headlamps and streamlined looks. The vehicle architecture ensures very low energy consumption and low total cost of operation apart from being a zero emission environment friendly bus.”