Airport passengers to wait longer for AC e-bus services

Bengaluru: Bengalureans must wait longer to travel to the airport on air-conditioned electric buses. 

The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) had to call fresh bids to lease 320 AC e-buses to replace its ageing Volvo fleet. Tenders called last October elicited only one bid. 

The BMTC’s Volvo fleet is one of the largest in India but is ageing fast. The corporation scrapped 132 overage Volvo buses in 2022-23 and will send 136 more to the junkyard by this March. There will be only 484 buses left in the BMTC’s Volvo fleet. These include 352 Vajra and 132 Vayu Vajra buses. 

Ageing aside, operating Volvo buses comes with substantial costs. While the Vayu Vajra (airport) buses cost Rs 84 per km, they earn only Rs 72.33 per km. Vajra buses, which run on tech corridors and other premium routes, cost more than Rs 90 per km but bring in a measly Rs 50.81 km. 

In October 2023, the BMTC floated tenders to lease AC e-buses as it sought to use Rs 150 crore in special funds from the state government. The corporation hoped to phase out polluting buses and cut operational costs of its premium services. Leasing the buses would mean the BMTC had to pay on a per-kilometre basis and only deploy the conductor. 

The BMTC hoped all the 320 buses would hit the streets in 2024. However, with only one company submitting the bid, the corporation had no option but to cancel the tender, said Gajendra Kumar A N, the BMTC’s Chief Mechanical Engineer. 

“We have invited fresh tenders so that more service providers can participate,” he told DH. 

As per the tender, the winning bidder will procure, operate and maintain the low-floor (400 mm) buses on a Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model with assured distance of 225 km per day for 350 days per year over 12 years. Each bus will run for 78,750 km per year or 9.45 lakh kilometres during the 12-year contract period. The BMTC will pay based on the number of buses deployed and kilometres operated for the day. 

The service provider will also bear the cost of drivers and other personnel. It should supply the prototype bus within 60 days, or as per a mutually agreed delivery schedule from the appointed date. In all, it should supply 159 buses within three months and another 160 buses within six months from the supply of the prototype bus. 

The contractor will also be responsible for setting up the charging infrastructure at the BMTC’s maintenance depots, terminals or other charging locations. 

The BMTC is hopeful of getting the prototype bus in the second half of this year and all buses early next year. 

G T Prabhakar Reddi, the BMTC’s Chief Traffic Manager (Operations), said the electric AC buses would have better pickup and help reduce the cost per kilometre. He added that depots where these buses would be attached would be identified later.