Jammu, July 22:The much-hyped electric buses introduced in Jammu and Srinagar lack critical backup which could render these vehicles defunct in next few months.
About 40 electric vehicles, 20 each for Jammu and Srinagar, were introduced recently to provide environmentally clean transport.
According to a source in the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC), although the state administration launched these vehicles, bought for Rs 40 crore, with much fanfare, but the absence of required charging points and traffic mess in Jammu and Srinagar could impact efficiency.
In Jammu, the charging points are only at the depots while so far no plan has been formulated to identify places in the city to set up additional points and allied infrastructure. There is a need for dedicated power supply for establishing charging points along the route, but these points are yet to be identified.
“It will take a minimum of two hours for a vehicle to get charged and every vehicle has to return to the depot to prepare for the next journey. It would adversely hamper their operations. In a city like Jammu where traffic jams are a routine, wear and tear of vehicles is higher,” said a senior manager of the SRTC.
When contacted, SRTC managing director Bilal Ahmed Bhat said construction of more charging points was under consideration. “The electric vehicles were introduced under a pilot project in capital cities and a plan is being formulated to create fully trained manpower and infrastructure. It will be taken up in phases.”
According to the technical specifications, after each charge, an electric bus can cover 150 km. The electric vehicles are expensive, primarily because of the batteries.
