India’s First Electric Double Decker AC e-Bus Introduced In Mumbai

The all-electric SWITCH EiV 22 is launched as India’s first electric double-decker air-conditioning e-Bus in Mumbai. The e-bus is 100% made in India.

The nation’s first double-decker electric bus with air conditioning was on Monday added to BEST, the civic transportation organization in Mumbai, after a delay of many months, according to officials.

Before it is made available to the general public, the wet-leased e-bus will be certified with the Regional Transport Office. 

This bus will probably travel the same suburban routes as the existing diesel-powered, conventional double-decker buses.

According to Lokesh Chandra, general manager of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Organisation, 20 of this double-decker, air-conditioned buses from Switch Mobility, an Ashok Leyland subsidiary, are expected to arrive before the end of March. 

By the end of this year, there will be 200 double-decker electric buses, he continued.

“It’s a historic day right now. New electric double-decker versions of Mumbai’s famous double-decker buses are already being used in public transportation. 

This vehicle will be devoted to the general public very soon “These buses will be run on the standard double-decker bus routes in southern Mumbai and the city’s suburbs”, Chandra said.

The new e-bus features two entrances and an equivalent number of steps for accessing higher decks, unlike traditional double-decker variants. 

In addition to other features, the new buses will have digital ticketing, CCTV cameras, live tracking, digital displays, and a panic button for emergencies. These buses will cost the same as single-decker AC buses in terms of fee.

The passenger carrying capacity of double-decker e-buses is almost two times greater than that of single-decker vehicles, according to BEST. 

The new buses can accommodate 90 to 100 passengers standing up in addition to its 65 seated passengers.

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On August 17, 2022, Union Minister Nitin Gadakari revealed the country’s prototype air-conditioned e-bus in Mumbai as BEST said that it would launch double-decker e-buses in public service starting in October 2022 after finishing the certification and licensing process.

Executives from Switch Mobility claimed that the Centre’s altered certification procedure was the primary cause of the certification’s delay.

A workshop in Patalganga, in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, will start line production of the double-decker e-buses after receiving the certificate from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).

Currently, BEST runs less than 50 diesel-powered double-decker buses, some of which are open-deck models. 

The majority of these buses are nearing the end of their Codal life, which is the normal average life of a machine or piece of equipment based on a working shift. 

As a result, BEST has opted to launch the double-decker e-buses on a wet lease, where private operators are responsible for paying for driver expenses and vehicle upkeep.

Approximately 34 lakh passengers are transported daily by the BEST’s 3,300 buses, 400 of which are single-decker e-buses, according to Chandra. The BEST has received contracts for 3,000 additional e-buses, including 900 double-decker e-buses.